Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 5.5% – Here’s What Happened

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price traded down 5.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $582.91 and last traded at $593.00. 29,325,300 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 81% from the average session volume of 16,187,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $627.57.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use ‘Faceprint’ Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US ‘trade action’
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $618.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $636.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade 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 have sold 42,860 shares of company stock worth $26,555,260 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evansbrook LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 45.9% during the first quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 668 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the first quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 10,331 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,911,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $1,522,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.8% during the first quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foguth Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 65.8% during the first quarter. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,318 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.