Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 6.7% Higher – What’s Next?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price rose 6.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $573.69 and last traded at $572.13. Approximately 32,214,733 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 102% from the average daily volume of 15,909,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $536.38.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target to $775 but kept an Overweight rating and called META a top pick, signaling buy-side conviction despite near-term headwinds. Morgan Stanley Trims PT
• Positive Sentiment: China’s commerce ministry said it supports law-abiding transnational tech deals after reports of a review of a Meta deal—this reduces near-term regulatory uncertainty for cross-border investments. China Supports Transnational Deals
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and Corning began construction to expand U.S. optical cable manufacturing to support Meta’s AI data-center buildout—evidence of durable, long-term capex commitments and supply-chain localization. Corning & Meta Expand Cable Capacity
• Positive Sentiment: Product and AI momentum: Meta launched new Ray‑Ban prescription smart glasses and is forming an elite AI lab for recommendations — both support engagement and longer-term monetization upside. Ray‑Ban Smart Glasses Meta Elite AI Lab
• Neutral Sentiment: Layoffs continue (168 roles in Washington state) — could lower near-term opex but also signal restructuring and product/VR challenges. Meta Layoffs in Washington
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/market commentary (Zacks, Seeking Alpha, retail press) highlights AI monetization upside and long-term growth potential — supportive but varies by conviction and timing. Seeking Alpha on AI Monetization
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risks remain the biggest near-term overhang: recent rulings in New Mexico and a California jury verdict found Meta liable for harms to teens, creating precedent that could invite thousands of similar suits and meaningful damages or regulatory pushback. TechCrunch on Legal Rulings MarketBeat Legal Impact

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $850.00 price objective (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $860.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $845.54.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $640.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $662.64.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total value of $560,581.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 13,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,072,742.30. The trade was a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 161,448 shares of company stock valued at $103,333,788. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in 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 buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in 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 worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after acquiring an additional 310,947 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.