Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 1.8% on Insider Selling

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) fell 1.8% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $644.81 and last traded at $648.69. 12,746,971 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 12,432,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $660.62.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $650.41, for a total transaction of $336,261.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,598,740.03. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $880.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $915.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.89.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Secured multi‑gigawatt nuclear power deals (Vistra, TerraPower, Oklo) to supply Meta’s Prometheus AI data center — long‑dated agreements help lock in reliable, low‑carbon capacity for heavy AI compute and reduce power‑supply risk for future growth. Meta strikes nuclear power agreements with three companies
• Positive Sentiment: Nuclear deals receive broad coverage (TechCrunch, Bloomberg) and have already lifted shares of partners (Oklo, Vistra) — a signal markets view the agreements as material to Meta’s AI infrastructure buildout and future margins. Meta signs deals with three nuclear companies for 6+ GW
• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand signals for Meta’s Ray‑Ban Display AI glasses — company paused international rollout because U.S. demand outstripped limited inventory, which supports upside for Reality Labs if Meta can scale production. Meta’s New AI Glasses See “Unprecedented Demand”
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity mixed but constructive: some price targets trimmed (Guggenheim lowered its target) yet many firms retain Buy/Outperform views given AI growth and healthy fundamentals — watch updates for guidance impact. Guggenheim price target note
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in China — Beijing announced a probe/assessment of Meta’s ~$2B Manus acquisition to check export/security compliance; this creates near‑term transaction uncertainty and geopolitical headline risk. China to assess/investigate Manus deal
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Oliván disclosed small, regular share sales — routine but sometimes interpreted by market participants as a mild near‑term negative signal. SEC filing: Javier Oliván sale

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $641.26 and a 200 day moving average of $703.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.