Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 1.1% – Here’s What Happened
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemMeta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) traded up 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $672.22 and last traded at $665.9590. 9,023,412 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 15,520,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $658.69.
Meta Platforms News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Acquisition accelerates Meta’s agent/automation strategy and adds scale — Manus’ agent technology and user base could speed deployment of AI features across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and business products, supporting future monetization. Meta to acquire Chinese startup Manus
- Positive Sentiment: Strategic fit for “agentic” AI push — commentary from analysts and press frames the deal as plugging a capability gap in Meta’s AI stack that could improve product stickiness and ad/productivity monetization. Meta Buys Manus — Barron’s
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street momentum and high price targets — some brokers reaffirmed bullish views (notably a Rosenblatt $1,117 target called out in market coverage), reinforcing optimism that AI investments will drive multi-year upside. Rosenblatt price target coverage
- Neutral Sentiment: Big‑tech AI narrative supports sector flows — the Manus deal is being lumped into year‑end momentum for AI leaders; that helps sentiment but also leaves META sensitive to rotation. Big tech momentum article
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and geopolitical risk from Manus’ China roots — reporters and lawmakers flagged potential U.S. scrutiny because Manus was founded by China‑origin entrepreneurs (now Singapore‑based), which could slow integration or invite review. CNBC on Manus acquisition and scrutiny
- Negative Sentiment: Near‑term risks: profit‑taking, insider selling and heavy AI CapEx — recent pullbacks and documented insider sales, plus Meta’s large ongoing AI spending, keep pressure on near‑term margins and make the stock sensitive to quarterly results and guidance. Meta stock slip analysis
Analyst Ratings Changes
META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $825.00 price objective (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $820.22.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on META
Meta Platforms Price Performance
The business has a 50-day moving average price of $653.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $706.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.42, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.28%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,962,956.64. The trade was a 21.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,038 shares of company stock worth $25,587,621. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Infusive Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,614,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,431 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $43,790,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $130,467,000 after purchasing an additional 38,432 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $155,387,000 after buying an additional 20,912 shares during the period. 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.