Mitchell Capital Management Co. Reduces Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Mitchell Capital Management cut its Meta position by 35.8% in the second quarter, selling 9,386 shares and retaining 16,813 shares valued at approximately $9.47 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $785.22, although Meta’s latest EPS of $6.18 missed expectations while revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion.
• Meta insiders sold nearly $19.2 million in stock during the last quarter, while the company also faces an estimated $17 billion–$18 billion settlement involving alleged harm to children and teens and related compliance costs.

Mitchell Capital Management Co. lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,813 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 9,386 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.4% of Mitchell Capital Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Mitchell Capital Management Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $572.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $592.45 and a 200 day moving average of $610.45.

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

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI strategy remains a potential long-term catalyst. Analysts point to its roughly $60 billion AI investment program as a way to improve ad targeting, monetization and possibly challenge Google in search and digital advertising. Meta's $60 Billion AI Machine Could Dethrone Google Search by Year-End
• Positive Sentiment: Meta-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an initial public offering. A successful listing could provide a valuation reference for Meta’s investment and highlight the value of its strategic holdings. Meta- and Google-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms gets regulatory nod for IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary describes META as undervalued after its shares fell well below their prior record, citing second-quarter revenue growth of 28% to $60.8 billion and the potential for a recovery. Prediction: Meta Stock Reclaims Its All-Time High Before 2029
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta has begun removing fraudulent advertisements in India that used explicit content to distribute malware. The action limits immediate user risk but underscores continuing challenges in ad-quality enforcement and platform trust. Meta removes ads for fraud apps posing as porn after India sounds alarm
• Negative Sentiment: Meta agreed to an approximately $17 billion to $18 billion settlement with U.S. states over allegations that its platforms harmed children and teens. The agreement requires stronger age verification and other safeguards, creating a substantial financial cost and potentially higher compliance expenses. Explainer: Settlement requires Meta to check young users' ages
• Negative Sentiment: Research claiming Temu spent as much as $962 million on advertising tied to fake creators raises additional concerns about content moderation, advertiser oversight and reputational risk on Meta’s platforms. Temu spent up to $962 million on ads that helped finance an army of fake creators on Meta platforms

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source