Candlestick Capital Management LP Invests $73.48 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Candlestick Capital purchased a new stake of 100,058 shares valued at approximately $73.48 million in Meta during Q3, making it about 1.8% of the firm’s portfolio and its 17th largest holding.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently — insiders sold 160,349 shares worth $102.74 million in the last quarter, including CFO Susan Li’s sale of 56,571 shares (~$36.47M) and CTO Andrew Bosworth’s sale of 8,089 shares; insiders now own 13.61% of the stock.
• Meta beat quarterly estimates (EPS $8.88 vs. $8.16; revenue $59.89B vs. $58.33B), prompting analyst price-target increases and a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $844.44.

Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 100,058 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $73,481,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.8% of Candlestick Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,349 shares of company stock valued at $102,743,026. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.8%

META stock opened at $613.71 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $653.25 and a 200-day moving average of $676.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Argus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $844.44.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out new Meta AI features for Facebook Marketplace (automated listing creation and pricing) that help monetize its ads/commerce funnel and show ongoing productization of AI. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta outlined an aggressive in‑house chip roadmap (MTIA series) focused on generative AI inference — this could lower long‑term inference costs and improve margins if deployed at scale. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takeaways: fund managers cite Meta’s cost discipline and scale as advantages, and some analysts/notes argue the stock is attractively valued among large cap AI beneficiaries. These views provide a counterweight to short‑term AI execution concerns. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed sales in early March (files show multiple transactions). Sizeable insider sales can draw attention but don’t necessarily signal company fundamentals. SEC filing - Olivan insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny continues in the U.K. around child safety on platforms — a recurring policy risk that can affect product rollouts and compliance costs but is broadly anticipated by investors. UK watchdogs press Meta to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Avocado delay: Multiple outlets report Meta pushed the Avocado launch from this month to at least May after performance concerns, prompting investor worry about missed timelines and competitive positioning vs. Google/OpenAI. Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction & scrutiny: Reports highlight that the delay increases scrutiny of Meta’s multibillion‑dollar AI investments and raises the risk of competitors pulling ahead, pressuring sentiment and the stock near term. Meta delays rollout of new AI model, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: Additional coverage frames the pause as a potential strategic cost — analysts and commentary ask whether Meta can afford to wait while rivals sprint ahead, amplifying short‑term downside risk. Avocado on Ice: Can Meta Afford to Pause?

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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