Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 1.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Meta Platforms shares fell 1.9% after UBS Group cut its price target from $865 to $766, though the firm kept a buy rating on the stock.
• Trading was active, with Meta hitting an intraday low of $654.20 on volume of 18.97 million shares, above its recent average.
• Despite the price dip, Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta: analysts still have a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $835.90, while the company continues to face heavy scrutiny around its AI spending and execution.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.9% during mid-day trading on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $865.00 to $766.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as low as $654.20 and last traded at $656.73. 18,971,869 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 16,861,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $669.21.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on META. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $835.90.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% 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 have sold a total of 40,083 shares of company stock valued at $24,628,719 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target on Meta to $766 from $865, but kept a buy rating, which still implies meaningful upside from current levels and signals continued Wall Street confidence in the stock. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Louisiana AI data center to 5 gigawatts and raising the project’s cost to over $50 billion, underscoring its commitment to AI infrastructure and long-term growth. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Meta’s aggressive AI push, including new custom AI chips, a lower-cost AI model for businesses, and broader optimism that the company is becoming more competitive in AI, which is helping investor sentiment. Motley Fool
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Wall Street suggests the market is closely watching Meta’s capex plans, with expectations that the company’s heavy spending on AI could either validate future growth or pressure margins if returns take longer to materialize.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta pulled its AI image tool after privacy backlash, adding to concerns about product execution and reputation risks around its fast-moving AI rollout. PYMNTS
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta faces a $2 billion AI deal reversal in China and an EU probe into Facebook and Instagram design practices add regulatory and strategic headwinds. Yahoo Finance

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $876,000. Diversified Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Consolidated Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.9%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $598.11 and a 200 day moving average of $626.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

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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