Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 3.4% – Still a Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price rose 3.4% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $752.24 and last traded at $742.96. 24,728,420 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 41% from the average daily volume of 17,489,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $718.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, its first frontier AI models. The company says they match leading models from OpenAI and Anthropic on public benchmarks and are designed for workplace applications and complex, multi-step tasks. Meta releases Muse Wonder AI models to challenge Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: The new models are expected to make Meta’s Muse personal assistant more capable, potentially improving user retention and helping the company compete more effectively in the rapidly expanding AI-assistant market. Third-party retention data also reportedly supported the bullish reaction. Meta Says New AI Model Is State-of-the-Art, Will Make Muse Agent Smarter
• Positive Sentiment: Meta plans to offer advanced Muse access through subscription tiers priced at $20 and $100 per month, providing a potential direct monetization channel beyond advertising. Meta debuts Muse Wonder AI model
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s large Louisiana data-center project is attracting thousands of workers and underscores the company’s commitment to AI infrastructure, supporting its long-term computing ambitions. Meta AI data center construction in Louisiana
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its price target from $860 to $840 but maintained an Overweight rating, still indicating expected upside from current levels.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh the substantial cost of Meta’s AI buildout, including potential capital-expenditure increases and workforce reductions. Rising spending could pressure near-term earnings even if Muse ultimately produces stronger growth. Prediction: Meta Platforms Stock Will Drop After Earnings

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Arete Research boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. HSBC lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $791.47.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.4%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $640.98 and a 200-day moving average of $620.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $728.08, for a total transaction of $688,763.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,735,814.24. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the third quarter. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. now owns 4,732 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,432,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.5% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,754 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,624,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.3% in the third quarter. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. jvl associates llc lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.9% in the third quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 1,372 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 114.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 6,122 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.