Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 861,428 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 68% compared to the average volume of 513,150 call options.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $547.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $645.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $668.89. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Pivotal Research decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $846.63.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large AI infrastructure commitment — Meta told investors it will boost spending on a West Texas AI data center to about $10 billion, signaling continued investment in model training capacity and long-term AI revenue opportunities. Meta boosts investment in West Texas AI data center by over sixfold to $10 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic silicon partnership — Meta is the lead partner / launch customer for Arm’s new AGI CPU, which could lower Meta’s long‑run costs for AI inference/training and validate its data‑center strategy. This reduces execution risk on large compute builds. Arm launches first own-brand chip with Meta as launch customer
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst view improving — Erste Group modestly raised FY2027 EPS estimates for Meta, showing some sell‑side confidence in profit power despite near‑term noise. Erste Group raises FY2027 EPS estimate for META
• Neutral Sentiment: Cost moves and workforce cuts — Meta has cut several hundred roles and reports of broader restructuring persist; layoffs can boost near‑term margins but also signal stress amid massive CapEx. Meta Lays Off 700 Employees, While Rewarding Top Executives
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive retention program — Meta awarded performance‑tied stock units/options to senior leaders to retain talent for its AI push; upside‑only payoff if aggressive targets are met (long‑term positive if execution succeeds). Meta grants senior executives stock awards to retain talent
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity — A surge in call buying suggests some traders are speculating on a rebound, increasing intraday volume and volatility (short‑term noise).
• Negative Sentiment: Landmark legal losses — Back‑to‑back jury verdicts (including a Los Angeles negligent‑design verdict and a New Mexico penalty) found Meta liable for harms to minors; investors fear follow‑on suits, regulatory changes and larger fines or restrictions that could materially affect business models and costs. Meta shares slip after US jury verdicts raise concerns of new legal exposure
• Negative Sentiment: Huge AI CapEx and free‑cash‑flow risk — Market commentary highlights an aggressive 2026 CapEx plan (reported ranges well above prior years), which could compress free cash flow and make the stock more sensitive to execution and legal shocks. That combination is a primary driver of the selloff. Meta Reportedly Plans 20% Layoff: A Sign of Weakness or Strength?

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total transaction of $1,574,473.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,746,335.16. This represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 162,484 shares of company stock valued at $104,015,906 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after buying an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.