Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 4.9% – Time to Sell?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price was down 4.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $580.42 and last traded at $582.90. 20,873,516 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the average daily volume of 16,604,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $612.91.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s reported plan to launch a cloud/infrastructure business could turn surplus AI compute into a recurring revenue source and improve the payback on its huge AI investments.
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators and analysts said the move could strengthen Meta’s long-term AI monetization story, with some suggesting the opportunity could be material if execution is strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also quietly launched Pocket, a new AI-powered gaming app, showing it is still pushing new consumer products that could deepen engagement and create additional monetization options. Meta quietly launches vibe-coded gaming app Pocket
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta named Alex Schultz its first chief data officer and promoted Denise Moreno to chief marketing officer, a management reshuffle aimed at improving AI-era decision-making and marketing execution. Meta names Alex Schultz first chief data officer
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s WhatsApp username rollout is being framed as a privacy and anti-impersonation upgrade, but India has asked the company to pause the launch over fraud concerns, which could slow adoption in a key market. India asks Meta to hold WhatsApp username rollout over fraud fears
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging Facebook and Instagram are designed to addict children, adding legal overhang and reinforcing regulatory risk around the company. Meta Platforms Loses Summary Judgment Bid in US States’ Suit Over Claims That Facebook, Instagram Addict Children
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reporting that the Trump administration pressed Meta to submit AI models for voluntary review highlights potential compliance scrutiny as Meta expands its AI ambitions. Meta pressed Trump administration to submit AI models for voluntary review

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research set a $735.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.64.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.9%

The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $606.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $628.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.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 company earned $6.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the second quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,722 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 101,098 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $56,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 42.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 50,292 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,329,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SWP Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 49.7% in the second quarter. SWP Investment Management LLC now owns 8,124 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,698 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.