Qsemble Capital Management LP Sells 19,499 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Qsemble Capital Management reduced its Meta Platforms position by 84.2% in the second quarter, selling 19,499 shares and retaining 3,667 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• Meta insiders sold 32,987 shares worth $19.2 million over the past three months, including substantial sales by CTO Andrew Bosworth and insider Curtis J. Mahoney under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Despite the selling activity, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $785.22. Meta’s shares opened at $610.68, while its latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, though earnings per share missed estimates.

Qsemble Capital Management LP lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,667 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 19,499 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. 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 transaction of $869,922.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled Muse Spark 1.3, an upgraded AI model that AI chief Alexandr Wang says delivers the company’s biggest performance improvement yet and is comparable with offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. The announcement strengthened expectations that Meta can compete more effectively in generative AI and monetize its large user base. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity With Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Meta’s settlement of major social-media litigation could remove a legal overhang and accelerate the launch of new AI products. Some investors view the settlement as manageable relative to Meta’s scale and believe teen-usage restrictions may have limited revenue impact. Meta settlement could clear the way for new AI product launches, Morgan Stanley says
• Positive Sentiment: Investment commentary highlighted Meta as one of the leading “hyperscalers” supporting the AI ecosystem, with strong revenue growth, user engagement and long-term AI monetization potential. Hyperscalers are the backbone of AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed its Neutral rating, signaling that the AI opportunity is balanced by valuation, execution and spending concerns. Wedbush Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta reportedly agreed to pay as much as $17 billion over 10 years and make major changes to Instagram and Facebook for teen users. The settlement may reduce legal uncertainty, but its cost and potential limits on engagement create financial and operating risks. Meta Is Making These Major Changes for Teen Users After $17 Billion Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary warned that AI infrastructure spending could approach $145 billion, compressing free cash flow even as revenue grows. Investors also remain concerned about Meta’s dependence on successful AI execution to justify a recovery toward its prior high. Meta Stock Has a New AI Catalyst
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is paying users to share how they use its latest AI model, raising privacy and reputational concerns that could complicate adoption. Separately, the company disabled cameras on some AI glasses after detecting tampering with recording lights. Meta is paying to peek at how you use their latest AI model

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of META opened at $610.68 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $594.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $609.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The company's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms 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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