Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) – Erste Group Bank cut their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the social networking company will post earnings of $33.75 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $33.92. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $28.17 per share.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share.
View Our Latest Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0%
META stock opened at $572.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $592.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $610.45. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.8% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 473 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Formuepleje A S raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 12,264 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,908,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. HORAN Wealth LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 113.1% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 309 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
More Meta Platforms News
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI strategy remains a potential long-term catalyst. Analysts point to its roughly $60 billion AI investment program as a way to improve ad targeting, monetization and possibly challenge Google in search and digital advertising. Meta’s $60 Billion AI Machine Could Dethrone Google Search by Year-End
- Positive Sentiment: Meta-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an initial public offering. A successful listing could provide a valuation reference for Meta’s investment and highlight the value of its strategic holdings. Meta- and Google-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms gets regulatory nod for IPO
- Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary describes META as undervalued after its shares fell well below their prior record, citing second-quarter revenue growth of 28% to $60.8 billion and the potential for a recovery. Prediction: Meta Stock Reclaims Its All-Time High Before 2029
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta has begun removing fraudulent advertisements in India that used explicit content to distribute malware. The action limits immediate user risk but underscores continuing challenges in ad-quality enforcement and platform trust. Meta removes ads for fraud apps posing as porn after India sounds alarm
- Negative Sentiment: Meta agreed to an approximately $17 billion to $18 billion settlement with U.S. states over allegations that its platforms harmed children and teens. The agreement requires stronger age verification and other safeguards, creating a substantial financial cost and potentially higher compliance expenses. Explainer: Settlement requires Meta to check young users’ ages
- Negative Sentiment: Research claiming Temu spent as much as $962 million on advertising tied to fake creators raises additional concerns about content moderation, advertiser oversight and reputational risk on Meta’s platforms. Temu spent up to $962 million on ads that helped finance an army of fake creators on Meta platforms
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.
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