Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Axon Capital LP

Key Points

• Axon Capital LP nearly doubled its Meta Platforms position in the second quarter, purchasing 5,400 additional shares to hold 10,900 shares valued at approximately $6.14 million. Meta now represents 8.3% of Axon’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of the company.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.80 billion, up 28% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $6.18 fell short of the $7.19 consensus forecast. Shares opened at $616.77, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target price of $785.22.
• Insiders sold 32,987 Meta shares worth about $19.2 million over the past 90 days, including significant sales by CTO Andrew Bosworth and insider Curtis Mahoney under pre-arranged trading plans. Meanwhile, investors are watching Meta’s Muse Spark 1.3 AI model as a potential catalyst for future adoption and revenue growth.

Axon Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 98.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,900 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 8.3% of Axon Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Axon Capital LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,299,000 after buying an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $876,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $352,101,000 after acquiring an additional 29,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 118,460 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $78,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $616.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80. The company's 50-day moving average price is $596.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $609.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta opened paid developer access to Muse Spark 1.3, with company executives and analysts claiming the model is approaching or matching offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. Improved performance and token efficiency could support adoption in coding agents, model APIs, subscriptions and future generative-search advertising. Meta Platforms: Muse Spark 1.3 Was The Warning Shot
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage identifies Muse Spark 1.3 as a new catalyst that could improve confidence in Meta’s AI roadmap and help the company recover toward its prior highs, provided the technology translates into revenue and returns on investment. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity with Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary views Meta as a major beneficiary of the ongoing AI infrastructure and computing cycle, alongside other hyperscalers, potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Hyperscalers Are the Backbone of AI

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 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 $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,006. This trade represents a 44.34% 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. Insiders sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.22.

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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