Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 3.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price shot up 3.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $558.33 and last traded at $556.71. Approximately 24,073,065 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average daily volume of 16,918,844 shares. The stock had previously closed at $539.03.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s second-quarter revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Advertising demand, higher ad prices, user engagement and AI-powered recommendations remain strong, supporting the core business. META’s Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y on Ad Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts maintained bullish ratings despite reducing their price targets after earnings. Targets from firms including UBS, Baird, Citigroup, Bank of America, Rosenblatt and Cantor remain materially above recent trading levels, suggesting confidence in Meta’s advertising engine and eventual AI monetization. Meta Platforms Given New $750 Price Target at Robert W. Baird
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also pointing to Meta’s large user base, improving Instagram personalization, Advantage+ advertising growth and expanding enterprise AI products as potential drivers of future revenue. Some analysts view the earnings-related decline as an opportunity because the stock’s valuation is lower than many mega-cap technology peers. Buy Meta’s 8% Earnings Drop Because This ‘Miss’ Was Not a Miss at All
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s Q3 revenue outlook of $61 billion to $64 billion was broadly viewed as softer than hoped, leaving investors waiting for clearer evidence that AI spending will generate measurable returns. What Meta Now Has to Prove Following Its Earnings Release
• Negative Sentiment: Meta reported quarterly EPS of $6.18, well below the roughly $7.19–$7.22 consensus estimate. Legal and severance charges contributed to the miss, but investors remain concerned that rising operating expenses and Reality Labs losses could pressure profitability. Meta Misses Profit Expectations, Sticks to Massive AI Spending
• Negative Sentiment: Free cash flow fell sharply as Meta committed approximately $130 billion to $145 billion in annual capital expenditures; future AI-related data-center lease obligations reportedly reached $279 billion. This has intensified comparisons with Microsoft, whose AI investments are currently producing stronger cash generation. Dwindling Cash and Soaring Memory Costs: Tech’s AI Buildout Has Ballooning Price Tag
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal overhangs persist, including a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging harm to minors and an Indian police case involving Meta’s India head over Facebook posts concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Social Media Victims Law Center Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,015.00 to $883.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $789.95.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.3%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $602.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $623.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.4 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 39,325 shares of company stock valued at $23,979,087 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $876,000. Consolidated Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Finally, Third View Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,789,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.