EMC Capital Management Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• EMC Capital Management bought a new 2,500-share Meta stake worth approximately $1.4 million in the second quarter, making Meta its 15th-largest holding and about 0.6% of its portfolio.
• Meta shares opened at $576.14, with a $1.47 trillion market capitalization; the stock has traded between $520.26 and $790.80 over the past year. The company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, but earnings of $6.18 per share missed the $7.19 consensus estimate.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $785.32 price target, while recent targets were lowered. Investors are also weighing Meta’s advertising and AI prospects against costs and potential engagement impacts from its youth-safety settlement and related restrictions.

EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,500 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,408,000. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.6% of EMC Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of META opened at $576.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $592.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $612.48.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Settlement ends a high-profile trial and reduces legal uncertainty. Meta agreed to pay up to roughly $16.7 billion–$18 billion to settle claims brought by dozens of states alleging that Facebook and Instagram harmed or misled young users. Investors appear to prefer a defined cost over the possibility of much larger damages or an adverse trial ruling. The payout is substantial but reportedly equivalent to only several months of Meta’s profits. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Restrictions are less disruptive than a fundamental business overhaul. The agreement requires measures including two-hour daily limits for teenage users, overnight blocking, muted school-hour notifications, autoplay controls, parental tools and stronger age verification. However, Meta is not required to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising, preserving the core of its advertising model. Associated Press settlement report
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors continue to highlight Meta’s advertising and AI potential. A bullish analysis points to improving ad-ranking algorithms, rising ad impressions and pricing, strong network effects and Meta’s AA- credit rating. Evercore ISI also sees possible future revenue from excess AI-computing capacity as Meta expands its data-center infrastructure. These catalysts compete with concerns that the stock has declined in recent months and remains below its longer-term moving averages. Invezz AI infrastructure analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement creates meaningful financial and regulatory costs. The maximum payment could reach $18 billion, while usage limits may reduce teen engagement and potentially weaken future advertising data and impressions. Reports also question whether Meta’s age-verification technology works reliably, and the company’s final obligations could become stricter if TikTok, YouTube and other competitors adopt similar safeguards. Meta still faces thousands of additional youth-related lawsuits. TechCrunch age-verification report

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $770.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities raised Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $910,200. This represents a 45.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,957 shares of company stock valued at $20,442,696. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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