Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CTO Andrew Bosworth Sells 7,847 Shares

Key Points

• Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares on May 18 at an average price of $607.83, totaling about $4.77 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to equity award vesting.
• The transaction sharply reduced Bosworth’s stake, leaving him with 414 shares after a 94.99% decrease in his position. He had also sold 8,089 Meta shares in February.
• Meta’s stock was down 1.4% to $602.61, even as the company recently beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion. Analysts still have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.

Andrew Bosworth also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 18th, Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of META traded down $8.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $602.61. The stock had a trading volume of 11,716,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,909,861. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $620.35 and a 200 day moving average of $637.91. The company has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 465 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.31.

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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