Gambit Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,161 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Gambit Capital Management LLC initiated a new position in Meta Platforms, buying 1,161 shares valued at about $766,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Meta continues to attract major institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors holding 79.91% of the stock, even as some insiders have recently sold shares.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on META, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $840.19, while the company also beat last quarter’s earnings and revenue estimates.

Gambit Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,161 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $766,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,471 shares of company stock valued at $60,616,955. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.19.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched subscription plans for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and AI users, opening a new recurring-revenue stream and giving investors a clearer path beyond ads. Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions, with more to come, including AI plans
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also testing paid AI subscription tiers, signaling another monetization lever for its fast-growing AI products. Meta to start testing AI subscription services, with cheapest plan at $7.99 a month
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said a Meta cloud computing business is “definitely on the table” if the company ends up with excess data-center capacity, hinting at a possible long-term expansion into a large enterprise market. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Reports said Meta’s ad business remains strong, with AI features improving engagement and pricing power, reinforcing the company’s core earnings engine. META Rides on Solid Momentum in Ad Business: A Sign of More Upside?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option buying suggests traders are positioning for more upside, but it does not by itself change fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s appeal in a Vermont social-media addiction case, allowing a legal challenge over teen safety and app design to proceed. US Supreme Court won't hear Meta's challenge to Vermont social media addiction lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces fresh scrutiny from a Santa Clara County lawsuit alleging it profited from scam ads, adding to regulatory and legal overhangs. Santa Clara Lawsuit Tests Meta’s AI Ad Model And Governance Balance

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of META stock opened at $635.26 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $617.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $636.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

About Meta Platforms

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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