Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 2.5% After Insider Selling

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price traded down 2.5% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $614.82 and last traded at $615.52. 15,220,931 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 16% from the average session volume of 13,132,045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $631.09.

Specifically, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $653.00, for a total transaction of $337,601.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,166 shares in the company, valued at $7,291,398. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,117.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday. Arete Research set a $718.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. DA Davidson set a $825.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $822.96.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Deals that de‑risk Meta’s AI/data‑center power needs — Meta has signed prepayment/partnership agreements (e.g., Oklo) to secure long‑term baseload energy for its Prometheus supercluster and broader Meta Compute buildout, lowering a major execution risk for its massive data‑center plans. Oklo’s Meta Deal De-Risks the Story—Rebound Setup Emerging
• Positive Sentiment: BofA and other firms show constructive analyst interest — BofA reiterated/maintained a buy stance tied to Meta’s AI infra progress; Rosenblatt and some boutiques have also been positive recently, which can support sentiment if execution continues. BofA Securities Asserts Buy Stance
• Positive Sentiment: Hardware demand signal — reports say Meta is discussing doubling Ray‑Ban Meta glasses output, signaling potential early revenue diversification from AI wearables beyond advertising. Meta mulls doubling output of Ray‑Ban glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta Compute initiative is long‑term strategic but capital intensive — the plan to build “tens/hundreds of gigawatts” of compute capacity underscores AI ambition (control and optionality) but raises timing and ROI questions for investors. Meta Compute: Inside Zuckerberg’s Massive Data Center Bet
• Neutral Sentiment: Wikipedia/API partnerships broaden AI training access — Meta joins others to formalize access to Wikipedia content for LLM training; strategic but not an immediate revenue driver. Wikipedia signs AI content training deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Near‑term catalyst: Q4/2025 earnings and 2026 guidance (scheduled Jan. 28) — results and explicit capex/FCF guidance will likely be the primary short‑term driver. Meta to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs headcount cuts (~1,000–1,500 jobs) signal a pullback in metaverse investment — while lowering costs, the layoffs underscore a strategic pivot (and product risk) away from VR, which can unsettle investors focused on long‑term innovation stories. Meta Cuts Reality Labs Jobs
• Negative Sentiment: Capex and free‑cash‑flow pressure — analysts and articles highlight materially higher 2026 capex and declining LTM FCF, which has prompted some downgrades and valuation concerns; that pressure can weigh on the stock until FCF trends stabilize. Meta Compute: Capex/FCF analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling / high‑profile sales — recent disclosures show COO Javier Olivan has sold blocks of shares; combined with other negative headlines this can amplify short‑term selling pressure. SEC filing: Olivan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and valuation skepticism — some firms have trimmed targets or expressed caution about the funding intensity and timing of AI monetization, which keeps shares vulnerable to multiple compression. Analyst downgrade reports

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $641.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $700.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Edge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 3,884 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. StoneCrest Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,065 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,984,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. MRA Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 6,166 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,070,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 1,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 986 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 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.