R Squared Ltd Acquires Shares of 2,795 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,795 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,574,000. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.8% of R Squared Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Axon Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 98.2% in the 2nd quarter. Axon Capital LP now owns 10,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,140,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Golden Reserve Retirement LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 92.1% during the 2nd quarter. Golden Reserve Retirement LLC now owns 3,891 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 5,649 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,182,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. 71 West Capital Partners raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.8% during the second quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 39,359 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $22,171,000 after buying an additional 5,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.9% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,544,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. This trade represents a 14.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta opened paid developer access to Muse Spark 1.3, with company executives and analysts claiming the model is approaching or matching offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. Improved performance and token efficiency could support adoption in coding agents, model APIs, subscriptions and future generative-search advertising. Meta Platforms: Muse Spark 1.3 Was The Warning Shot
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage identifies Muse Spark 1.3 as a new catalyst that could improve confidence in Meta’s AI roadmap and help the company recover toward its prior highs, provided the technology translates into revenue and returns on investment. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity with Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary views Meta as a major beneficiary of the ongoing AI infrastructure and computing cycle, alongside other hyperscalers, potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Hyperscalers Are the Backbone of AI

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $616.77 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $596.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $609.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.