Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 6% – Still a Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shot up 6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $677.86 and last traded at $669.21. 40,175,382 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 138% from the average daily volume of 16,869,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $631.48.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s latest AI push is drawing bullish attention, including the launch of Muse Spark 1.1, expanded developer access through its Model API, and reports that the company plans to start producing an in-house AI chip in September. Investors are betting these moves could lower compute costs, reduce reliance on Nvidia and AMD, and open new revenue streams beyond advertising. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also benefiting from optimism around its cloud and AI infrastructure ambitions, including a new C$13 billion data center in Alberta and commentary that the company may be building a stronger long-term “AI revenue stack” than the market currently prices in. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators are still constructive on META, with bullish notes saying the stock looks attractively valued relative to its AI growth potential and that recent weakness created an opportunity for long-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP trimmed its price target to $800 from $825 while maintaining an outperform rating, suggesting continued upside but a slightly more cautious near-term view on valuation and spending. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces renewed regulatory risk after the European Union said Facebook and Instagram may violate the Digital Services Act with “addictive” design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications, potentially exposing the company to fines and product changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reporting also highlighted investor concern that Meta’s aggressive AI capex could pressure margins if monetization takes longer than expected, even though the market is currently rewarding the strategy. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $767.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Arete Research set a $735.00 price objective on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $838.26.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 6.0%

The firm has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $598.11 and a 200-day moving average of $627.10.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 44,748 shares of company stock valued at $27,565,292 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GoalFusion Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.7% during the second quarter. GoalFusion Wealth Management LLC now owns 929 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.6% in the second quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,164 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Northside Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC now owns 23,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,073,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 7,505 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.