Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 7% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares traded down 7% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $639.69 and last traded at $648.85. Approximately 40,307,980 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 128% from the average daily volume of 17,684,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $697.52.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total transaction of $444,828.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,718.40. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total transaction of $669,011.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,233,299.20. The trade was a 13.65% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $850.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $900.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, CICC Research dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.12.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26.1% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share, exceeding Wall Street estimates. Advertising growth, higher ad prices and AI-driven improvements in targeting and engagement supported the results. META’s Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Meta said its Muse AI assistant surpassed 10 million users shortly after launch, strengthening the long-term case for AI-related advertising, commerce and subscription revenue. Analysts including JPMorgan, Bank of America and Pivotal Research raised their price targets, maintaining bullish ratings. Meta falls as investors balance Muse growth with rising AI costs
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta announced a new non-voting Class C share structure intended to help finance its AI buildout without reducing Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. The move could provide funding flexibility, but investors are evaluating potential dilution and governance implications. Meta to issue new class of shares
• Negative Sentiment: Meta raised the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. The investment pushed quarterly free cash flow negative, prompting concerns that AI returns may take longer to justify the infrastructure bill. Meta stock sinks as AI spend pushes free cash flow negative
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-default-swap prices for Meta reached a record high, signaling increased concern about balance-sheet and financing risk as the company considers funding its AI expansion. The market reaction also weighed on power-equipment suppliers tied to Meta’s data-center spending. Bond market warning on Meta’s borrowing
• Negative Sentiment: A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in a Cambridge Analytica-related privacy case; the company plans to appeal. Separately, Meta faces an Australian class-action lawsuit alleging that its platforms harm children, adding to regulatory and litigation uncertainty. Meta ordered to pay $25 billion to New Mexico

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $662.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $629.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.32 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,230,426,000 after buying an additional 162,909 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after buying an additional 1,815,017 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,964,745,000 after buying an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.