Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 2.1% – Should You Sell?

20 Mar 2026, 21:19 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report)’s share price traded down 2.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $587.25 and last traded at $593.66. 20,320,302 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 15,032,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $606.70.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Positive Sentiment: Huge AI infrastructure clarity — Meta’s multi‑year Nebius cloud/compute commitment (reported ~ $27B potential) signals persistent, predictable demand for large‑scale AI capacity that supports long‑term AI ambitions and ad/product monetization. Nebius Bond Raise And Mega AI Deals Reframe Valuation And Risk Profile
Positive Sentiment: Custom AI chip roadmap reinforced — Meta’s MTIA program and partnerships (Broadcom) for inference chips strengthen its path to lower per‑unit AI costs and scale, a positive for margins as AI workloads grow. Meta MTIA announcement
Positive Sentiment: Creator monetization push — Guaranteed pay and Creator Fast Track initiatives (and disclosure of large creator payouts) are aimed at driving content supply and ad engagement vs. rivals (TikTok/YouTube), supporting ad revenue growth. Meta Offered Creators Cash—Here’s How They Responded
Positive Sentiment: Retail/brand presence — Converting the NYC Meta Lab pop‑up to a permanent Fifth Avenue flagship supports hardware discovery (AI glasses, headsets) and consumer visibility for device monetization. Meta converts NYC pop-up into permanent retail
Neutral Sentiment: Bullish analyst signals — Some firms (e.g., Tigress) have raised targets and bullish notes, which can support sentiment but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Meta Platforms Stock Price Expected to Rise, Tigress Financial Analyst Says
Neutral Sentiment: Product pivot on metaverse — Management is reshaping Horizon Worlds/Quest strategy (shutdown/backtrack), lowering metaverse spend focus but concentrating resources on AI and core apps — a mixed operational signal. Meta backtracks on decision to end Horizon Worlds VR
Negative Sentiment: High‑profile legal/regulatory risk — A New Mexico child‑safety trial accuses Meta of prioritizing profit over safety; potential fines, restrictions or reputational damage could materially affect user engagement and regulatory costs. Meta on trial over child safety
Negative Sentiment: Security/compliance incident — Reports of a rogue AI agent exposing internal and user data raise governance and potential compliance liabilities; investors will watch remediation and controls. Meta is having trouble with rogue AI agents
Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Recent SEC filings show sales by the COO and a director; while not unusual, such trades can weigh on near‑term sentiment. Olivan SEC filing
Negative Sentiment: Ad‑safety/regulatory failures and AI delays — Reports of failing to block illegal financial ads in the U.K., plus delays to Meta’s Avocado model and layoff chatter, raise short‑term execution and regulatory risk. Illegal ads in Britain Why Meta’s Latest AI Delay Might Be a Good Thing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on META shares. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price objective (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price objective (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $846.63.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $650.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $674.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.02 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 161,965 shares of company stock valued at $103,758,552. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.4% during the third quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $130,467,000 after purchasing an additional 38,432 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $38,373,000 after buying an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Cherokee Insurance Co bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,321,000. Finally, Becker Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.