Traders Purchase Large Volume of Meta Platforms Call Options (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 861,428 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 68% compared to the average volume of 513,150 call options.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $47.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $547.25. 35,634,190 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,863,398. The company has a market cap of $1.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.30. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $647.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $669.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large AI infrastructure commitment — Meta told investors it will boost spending on a West Texas AI data center to about $10 billion, signaling continued investment in model training capacity and long-term AI revenue opportunities. Meta boosts investment in West Texas AI data center by over sixfold to $10 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic silicon partnership — Meta is the lead partner / launch customer for Arm’s new AGI CPU, which could lower Meta’s long‑run costs for AI inference/training and validate its data‑center strategy. This reduces execution risk on large compute builds. Arm launches first own-brand chip with Meta as launch customer
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst view improving — Erste Group modestly raised FY2027 EPS estimates for Meta, showing some sell‑side confidence in profit power despite near‑term noise. Erste Group raises FY2027 EPS estimate for META
• Neutral Sentiment: Cost moves and workforce cuts — Meta has cut several hundred roles and reports of broader restructuring persist; layoffs can boost near‑term margins but also signal stress amid massive CapEx. Meta Lays Off 700 Employees, While Rewarding Top Executives
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive retention program — Meta awarded performance‑tied stock units/options to senior leaders to retain talent for its AI push; upside‑only payoff if aggressive targets are met (long‑term positive if execution succeeds). Meta grants senior executives stock awards to retain talent
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity — A surge in call buying suggests some traders are speculating on a rebound, increasing intraday volume and volatility (short‑term noise).
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark legal losses — Back‑to‑back jury verdicts (including a Los Angeles negligent‑design verdict and a New Mexico penalty) found Meta liable for harms to minors; investors fear follow‑on suits, regulatory changes and larger fines or restrictions that could materially affect business models and costs. Meta shares slip after US jury verdicts raise concerns of new legal exposure
• Negative Sentiment: Huge AI CapEx and free‑cash‑flow risk — Market commentary highlights an aggressive 2026 CapEx plan (reported ranges well above prior years), which could compress free cash flow and make the stock more sensitive to execution and legal shocks. That combination is a primary driver of the selloff. Meta Reportedly Plans 20% Layoff: A Sign of Weakness or Strength?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $872.00 target price (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $846.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 162,484 shares of company stock worth $104,015,906. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $59,963,463,000 after buying an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after acquiring an additional 310,947 shares in the last quarter. 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.