Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 3.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) fell 3.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $609.55 and last traded at $613.71. 18,767,074 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 24% from the average session volume of 15,140,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $638.18.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out new Meta AI features for Facebook Marketplace (automated listing creation and pricing) that help monetize its ads/commerce funnel and show ongoing productization of AI. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta outlined an aggressive in‑house chip roadmap (MTIA series) focused on generative AI inference — this could lower long‑term inference costs and improve margins if deployed at scale. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takeaways: fund managers cite Meta’s cost discipline and scale as advantages, and some analysts/notes argue the stock is attractively valued among large cap AI beneficiaries. These views provide a counterweight to short‑term AI execution concerns. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed sales in early March (files show multiple transactions). Sizeable insider sales can draw attention but don’t necessarily signal company fundamentals. SEC filing – Olivan insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny continues in the U.K. around child safety on platforms — a recurring policy risk that can affect product rollouts and compliance costs but is broadly anticipated by investors. UK watchdogs press Meta to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Avocado delay: Multiple outlets report Meta pushed the Avocado launch from this month to at least May after performance concerns, prompting investor worry about missed timelines and competitive positioning vs. Google/OpenAI. Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction & scrutiny: Reports highlight that the delay increases scrutiny of Meta’s multibillion‑dollar AI investments and raises the risk of competitors pulling ahead, pressuring sentiment and the stock near term. Meta delays rollout of new AI model, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: Additional coverage frames the pause as a potential strategic cost — analysts and commentary ask whether Meta can afford to wait while rivals sprint ahead, amplifying short‑term downside risk. Avocado on Ice: Can Meta Afford to Pause?

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.44.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.8%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $653.98 and its 200-day moving average is $678.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $1,574,473.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,746,335.16. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 161,446 shares of company stock worth $103,451,688 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $22,152,075,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537,076 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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.