Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 3.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Meta shares fell 3.4% on Thursday, trading as low as $597.22 before last changing hands at $606.10, below the prior close of $627.17.
• Despite the pullback, analysts remain mostly constructive: Meta has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of about $835.64, and several firms recently reiterated or raised targets.
• Investor attention remains focused on heavy AI spending ahead of earnings, though Meta also has some positives, including a dismissed teen lawsuit, upbeat commentary on AI products, and continued strong institutional ownership.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares fell 3.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $597.22 and last traded at $606.10. Approximately 15,424,040 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 16,782,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $627.17.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: A Florida teen dropped his social-media addiction lawsuit against Meta before trial, removing a near-term legal overhang and avoiding a potential headline risk for the company. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835, reinforcing bullish expectations for the stock ahead of results. American Banking News article
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Meta’s AI push as increasingly investor-friendly, including upbeat new ad campaigns aimed at reframing the company’s AI strategy as optimistic rather than threatening. TechCrunch article
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said Meta’s AI glasses could become a meaningful long-term hardware growth opportunity, citing first-mover advantage in AI wearables. Proactive Investors article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta remains under scrutiny as analysts note the stock is trading below multiple key moving averages and still faces a mixed technical setup ahead of earnings. Benzinga article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still focused on Meta’s heavy AI spending, with broader market commentary suggesting rising capital-expenditure pressure could keep sentiment cautious into earnings. Benzinga article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $835.64.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.4%

The firm has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $605.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $626.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 37,948 shares of company stock valued at $23,184,319 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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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