Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 3.5% – Time to Sell?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price fell 3.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $564.75 and last traded at $568.97. 16,921,934 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 16,792,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $589.85.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly considering selling excess data-center capacity to third parties or developing an AI cloud business, which could help monetize its substantial infrastructure spending beyond advertising. Should You Buy Meta Platforms Stock Below $600 Before Mark Zuckerberg Unveils Its AI Cloud Business?
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba’s release of a laptop-ready Qwen model and open weights for its most powerful model highlights intensifying competition in AI, although the near-term effect on Meta’s advertising business and AI investments is uncertain. Alibaba answers Meta’s AI challenge with new laptop-ready model
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent 13F filings may provide insight into institutional positioning in META, but the reports are backward-looking and do not establish a clear near-term trading catalyst. 13F Season: Where Wall Street’s Smart Money is Betting
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing a major trial brought by state attorneys general alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict young users, misled the public about potential harms, and improperly collected children’s data. The company disputes the claims. Meta faces ‘astronomical’ consequences as legal fight reaches critical moment in California
• Negative Sentiment: Plaintiffs are seeking as much as $1.4 trillion in damages, while court-ordered changes to product design, advertising, data collection, or access for younger users could create a longer-term threat to engagement and revenue. The unusually large potential liability is weighing heavily on investor sentiment. Meta trial: States allege Facebook, Instagram addicted kids
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also questioning Meta’s AI economics: heavy data-center spending is consuming cash, while residual-value guarantees and other off-balance-sheet financing could leave the company exposed if AI infrastructure becomes unprofitable or underutilized. What Could Meta Platforms (META) Off Balance Sheet AI Financing Mean For Investors?

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.32.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $595.94 and its 200-day moving average is $620.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 the business’s 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. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 17,772 shares of company stock valued at $10,823,658 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.4% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. WMS Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $876,000. Consolidated Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. 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.