Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price fell 1.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $802.00 to $795.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as low as $641.22 and last traded at $641.97. 14,502,082 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the average session volume of 12,551,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $653.06.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on META. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total transaction of $374,680.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,983,882. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 40,054 shares of company stock worth $24,799,940 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness — TD Cowen raised its price target on META to $820 and kept a Buy rating, giving investors a near‑term valuation upside narrative amid the recent pullback. Benzinga: TD Cowen price target
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger commercial demand for Ray‑Ban Meta smart glasses — Meta and EssilorLuxottica are reportedly discussing doubling production capacity (10M→20M units, with upside to 30M) this year, signaling product-market fit for AI wearables and potential revenue growth outside advertising. Reuters: doubling Ray‑Ban output
• Positive Sentiment: Executive hire to drive AI strategy — Meta named Dina Powell McCormick as president and vice chair to help steer its AI and infrastructure buildout, a governance move investors see as strengthening execution. Reuters: Dina Powell McCormick joins Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic repositioning in Reality Labs — Wedbush views the cuts and resource reallocation as a discipline shift toward consumer wearables (and away from broad metaverse bets), which could improve capital efficiency but delays returns. ProactiveInvestors: Wedbush on Reality Labs cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy/infrastructure play — Meta’s Meta Compute and deals (including the Oklo prepayment) to secure gigawatt‑scale baseload power are a long‑term moat for AI scale but lock in very large capex outlays and long timelines. MarketBeat: Meta energy strategy / Oklo
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs job cuts and restructuring — Reports say Meta will cut ~10–15% of Reality Labs (1,000–1,500 jobs) as it shifts from VR/metaverse projects to AI wearables; this highlights past capital waste and near‑term restructuring costs that weigh on sentiment. Fox Business: Reality Labs cuts
• Negative Sentiment: CapEx and execution concerns — Meta continues to plan massive capex (Meta Compute, data centers, nuclear prepayments). Some investors fear the pace/scale of spending and execution risk, and high-profile critics (e.g., Michael Burry commentary) amplify downside pressure. Benzinga: Michael Burry critique
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory noise — Brazil’s antitrust suspension of a WhatsApp policy and Australia account‑removal/teen‑ban issues add jurisdictional regulatory risk that could create headline volatility. TechCrunch: Brazil WhatsApp order

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 768 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,813 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $19,679,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 153 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 105,563 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,681,000 after acquiring an additional 43,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 16,215 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.7%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $641.42 and a 200 day moving average of $702.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.28%.

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.