Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 2.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) were up 2.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $683.31 and last traded at $677.22. Approximately 14,738,455 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 17,583,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $661.46.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s announcement of up to $135 billion in 2026 capital expenditures has been a major bullish catalyst, signaling heavy investment in AI and infrastructure and prompting strong investor buying earlier. META Pops 10% on $135B Capex Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed an earnings and revenue beat, reinforcing growth expectations and supporting valuation multiples — a prominent reason momentum has been constructive for the stock. MarketBeat: META Profile & Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: An institutional investor (Diamond Hill Capital) added to its META stake, a modest signal of continued buy-side interest. Diamond Hill Boosts META Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: CTO commentary: cuts to Reality Labs were described as a “real cause for sadness,” but leadership reiterated a long‑term bullish stance on VR — signaling management focus on matching investment to growth, which may temper near‑term capital allocation concerns. Meta CTO on Reality Labs Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: EU competition authorities have charged Meta with breaching antitrust rules for blocking third‑party AI assistants from WhatsApp and signaled they may impose interim measures to force access — a regulatory headwind that could limit product control and create compliance costs. EU threatens Meta with interim measure
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile lawsuits opened this week alleging addictive product design and failures to protect minors (trials in New Mexico/Los Angeles and a broader “digital casinos” case). Unsealed research memos cited in filings intensify reputational and potential financial risk if plaintiffs prevail or regulators increase scrutiny. NYT: Meta and YouTube Created ‘Digital Casinos’

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $847.40.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $656.76 and its 200 day moving average is $694.99.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. This trade represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 38,561 shares of company stock worth $23,673,584 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 363,880 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $240,193,000 after buying an additional 9,958 shares during the period. Connecticut Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $899,000. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 496.5% in the 4th quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 2,541 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 12,917 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 543.8% in the fourth quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,438 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 5,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.