Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 3% – Here’s What Happened

Posted by George Bondi on Sep 3rd, 2026

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) shot up 3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $619.46 and last traded at $610.68. Approximately 18,867,519 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 16,815,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $592.85.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled Muse Spark 1.3, which its AI chief said represents the company’s biggest improvement in model performance and is competitive with offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. The announcement renewed expectations that Meta can strengthen its AI products, user engagement and advertising capabilities. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity With Anthropic and OpenAI
Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators see AI as a potential long-term growth catalyst for Meta, with the company’s large-scale infrastructure, advertising platform and consumer reach potentially supporting substantial future cash-flow growth. Some investors believe the stock’s depressed valuation leaves room for recovery if AI monetization improves. Meta Stock Has a New AI Catalyst
Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly paying users to share information about how they use its newest AI model. The program could improve future products, but the data-privacy implications and user reception may affect the company’s reputation. Meta is paying to peek at how you use their latest AI model
Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed a Neutral rating, indicating that analysts remain cautious about balancing Meta’s AI opportunity against valuation, spending and execution risks. Wedbush Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Meta Platforms
Negative Sentiment: Meta’s settlement of social-media-related litigation could cost up to $17 billion over 10 years and requires changes affecting teen users on Facebook and Instagram. Although resolving the lawsuit removes a major overhang and may clear the way for new AI launches, the financial cost and potential engagement limitations remain risks. Meta Is Making These Major Changes for Teen Users After $17 Billion Settlement
Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to scrutinize sharply higher AI infrastructure spending, reportedly approaching $145 billion, which is pressuring free cash flow and operating margins. Meta must demonstrate that Muse Spark and related AI investments generate sufficient advertising or product revenue. Meta’s Next Trillion Dollars Could Come From AI

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on META shares. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.22.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.0%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $593.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $609.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.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 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 56,957.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,878,304,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,058,030,191,000 after buying an additional 1,875,012,642 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th 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. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.