Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 1.4% – Here’s Why

Posted by Brian Himes on Sep 10th, 2026

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) shares fell 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $642.14 and last traded at $644.38. 20,401,642 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average session volume of 16,958,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $653.69.

More Meta Platforms News

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

Positive Sentiment: Muse generated strong investor enthusiasm. Meta’s new AI agent can access services, manage tasks, send emails, make reservations and handle purchases through Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. Free and paid subscription tiers create a potential recurring-revenue stream beyond advertising. Why Are Meta Shares Soaring Today
Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded Meta to Overweight and raised its price target to $820 from $640. The firm cited Meta’s frontier AI models and agents as a growth opportunity beyond advertising, with “meaningful headroom” for the stock. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
Positive Sentiment: Meta may be positioning itself as an AI-compute provider. Analysts argue that the company’s large computing commitments could exceed internal requirements, potentially allowing Meta to sell capacity alongside AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Meta Might Be Building AWS For AI Compute
Positive Sentiment: ARK Invest bought roughly $25 million of Meta shares, while Morgan Stanley reportedly sees about 25% additional upside from AI monetization. These moves reinforce bullish institutional sentiment. Morgan Stanley Sees 25% Meta Gain on AI Upside
Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s aggressive AI spending could support future agent and cloud revenue, but dedicated computing capacity, infrastructure costs and potential margin pressure create significant return-on-investment and execution risks.
Negative Sentiment: A reported advertising scandal involving roughly 350 ads emerged shortly after Meta’s one-day, approximately $100 billion market-value increase. The development threatens to shift attention from Muse’s promise to the company’s ongoing challenges with ad quality, platform oversight and regulatory exposure. Meta Added $100 Billion in One Day. A 350-Ad Scandal Arrived Hours Later.
Negative Sentiment: Muse’s access to inboxes, calendars, credentials and payments raises privacy, security and consumer-trust concerns. Investors may also be taking profits after the sharp rally, while the departure of star AI researcher Andrew Tulloch adds a talent-retention concern. Star AI Researcher Is Leaving Meta

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped 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 report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.54.

Read Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $599.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $608.74. 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 capitalization of $1.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $754,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,517 shares in the company, valued at $910,200. This trade represents a 45.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,227 shares of company stock valued at $21,205,509. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Meta Platforms

(Get Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.