SeekingAlpha · Aug 28, 2026
Meta: When An $18 Billion Settlement Is Bullish
Meta's $18B legal settlement mitigates regulatory uncertainty and costs only $1B per year. Find out why META stock is a Buy.
NASDAQ · META
Meta Platforms, Inc.
Technology · Internet Content & Information
$571.10
Down-$5.04 (-0.87%)
Updated Aug 28, 2026, 9:31 AM
SID Score
6.2/10
Composite research score
Smart Money
44/100
Neutral
- Market cap
- 1.65T
- P/E ratio
- 28.07
- Dividend yield
- 0.46%
- 52-week range
- $520.26 – $744.00
- Volume
- 15.22M
- Avg. volume
- 17.47M
Price performance
META price history
1M range · 21 trading sessions · Daily adjusted prices
META closed at $571.10 after 21 trading sessions, up 5.95% for the selected period.
- Last close
- $571.10
- Period change
- +5.95%
- Period low
- $539.03
- Period high
- $599.12
Daily close
View OHLC price history
| Date | Open | High | Low | Close | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 2026 | $576.48 | $588.39 | $567.62 | $571.10 | 15.22M |
| Aug 26, 2026 | $590.31 | $593.34 | $561.88 | $576.14 | 31.42M |
| Aug 25, 2026 | $563.88 | $570.80 | $561.4001 | $570.05 | 9.77M |
| Aug 24, 2026 | $550.20 | $561.42 | $546.30 | $559.02 | 12.99M |
| Aug 21, 2026 | $546.885 | $553.8733 | $543.23 | $549.90 | 13.85M |
| Aug 20, 2026 | $546.95 | $549.988 | $539.31 | $545.83 | 13.87M |
| Aug 19, 2026 | $541.34 | $554.07 | $537.27 | $546.03 | 16.97M |
| Aug 18, 2026 | $557.48 | $560.66 | $543.21 | $543.67 | 27.09M |
| Aug 17, 2026 | $589.75 | $590.24 | $564.75 | $568.97 | 17.23M |
| Aug 14, 2026 | $596.98 | $601.86 | $589.29 | $589.85 | 8.76M |
| Aug 13, 2026 | $580.71 | $595.85 | $579.39 | $594.97 | 11.16M |
| Aug 12, 2026 | $601.065 | $604.499 | $578.21 | $578.85 | 16.19M |
| Aug 11, 2026 | $598.00 | $612.43 | $593.40 | $599.12 | 13.15M |
| Aug 10, 2026 | $599.13 | $608.21 | $592.0301 | $594.92 | 14.97M |
| Aug 7, 2026 | $585.64 | $598.7399 | $585.62 | $592.10 | 11.25M |
| Aug 6, 2026 | $586.95 | $595.31 | $585.995 | $589.90 | 11.81M |
| Aug 5, 2026 | $600.455 | $601.00 | $580.12 | $588.77 | 14.9M |
| Aug 4, 2026 | $581.50 | $592.787 | $578.25 | $587.94 | 17.96M |
| Aug 3, 2026 | $562.24 | $597.52 | $559.36 | $590.24 | 25.94M |
| Jul 31, 2026 | $543.60 | $558.33 | $540.22 | $556.71 | 24.26M |
| Jul 30, 2026 | $526.00 | $539.88 | $524.49 | $539.03 | 42.27M |
Latest META news
The latest Smart Investors Daily articles mentioning META.
Stock researchCompany · Overview
META research
Overview
Company profile and research snapshot.
Company profile
Meta is the largest social media company in the world, boasting close to 4 billion monthly active users worldwide. The firm's "Family of Apps," its core business, consists of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. End users can leverage these applications for a variety of different purposes, from keeping in touch with friends to following celebrities and running digital businesses for free. Meta packages customer data, gleaned from its application ecosystem and sells ads to digital advertisers. While the firm has been investing heavily in its Reality Labs business, it remains a very small part of Meta's overall sales.
Visit company websiteAnalyst outlook
Consensus and target data currently published for this company.
- Consensus
- Buy
- Average target
- $857.50
- Implied upside
- —
- Analysts
- 39
| Date | Firm | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 2026 | Truist Securities | Buy | — |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Benchmark | Hold | — |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Needham | Hold | — |
| Aug 25, 2026 | Evercore ISI Group | Outperform | — |
| Jul 30, 2026 | Cantor Fitzgerald | Overweight | — |
News briefing
No generated briefing is available yet.
SeekingAlpha · Aug 27, 2026
Meta: Disappointing Settlement, But Cost Of Doing Business
Meta Platforms is rated a Strong Buy with the stock beaten down and the teen health overhang greatly reduced. Read more on META stock here.
Benzinga · Aug 27, 2026
What Is Going on With Meta Platforms Stock on Thursday?
Meta stock falls as investors evaluated an $18 billion settlement with U.S. states imposing teen usage limits and stronger parental controls on Facebook and Instagram.
Benzinga · Aug 27, 2026
Musk, Altman, Huang All Set to Speak at US-Hosted G20 Tech Meeting
Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Jensen Huang will attend a tech-focused G20 meeting in North Carolina next week.
AI research layers
Interpretive context generated from the platform’s current data sources.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Meta Platforms shares closed at $571.10, declining 1.32% in the most recent session, per SID market data. The stock has experienced sustained downward pressure across multiple timeframes, falling 2.48% over the past month, 10.1% over the trailing three months, and 10.71% over the past year. META currently trades below both its 50-day moving average of $591.94 and its 200-day moving average of $625.65, according to Massive/Polygon technical data, signaling a bearish trend structure. The 14-day relative strength index stands at 42.1, approaching oversold territory but not yet triggering a reversal signal. Average daily trading volume registers at approximately 17.47 million shares. The stock carries a beta of 1.273, indicating higher volatility relative to the broader market. Despite the drawdown, Meta retains a market capitalization of approximately $1.65 trillion, maintaining its position among the largest publicly traded technology companies globally.
Meta Platforms Valuation Analysis
Meta Platforms currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, according to SID market data, positioning it within a premium valuation band relative to the broader market but moderate among mega-cap technology peers. The company's price-to-book ratio stands at 8.47, reflecting the market's recognition of Meta's significant intangible asset base, including its advertising platform and user network. Notably, the PEG ratio registers at negative 1.55, per SID market data, which stems from projected earnings growth rate adjustments and warrants careful interpretation rather than a straightforward growth-at-a-reasonable-price assessment. Meta has initiated a dividend program yielding approximately 0.32%, according to SEC filings, representing a modest but symbolic capital return commitment for shareholders. As a technology sector company with a $1.65 trillion market capitalization, Meta's valuation metrics reflect ongoing investor consideration of its heavy capital expenditure cycle tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure investments.
Smart Money Activity for META
Meta Platforms registers a composite smart money score of 44 out of 100, signaling a neutral stance among sophisticated market participants, per SID market data. Institutional positioning scores a perfect 25 out of 25, indicating robust ownership and sustained commitment from large asset managers according to 13F institutional filings. In contrast, insider activity paints a markedly different picture, scoring 0 out of 25. SEC Form 4 filings reveal 20 insider transactions over the past 90 days, comprising 19 sells against just 1 buy, reflecting a heavily skewed disposition pattern among company executives and directors. Dark pool activity scores 9 out of 25, suggesting moderate but not dominant off-exchange institutional trading interest. Congressional trading activity registers at 9.6 out of 25, indicating limited but notable legislative member involvement. The divergence between maximum institutional confidence and minimal insider conviction creates a mixed signal profile that warrants monitoring, particularly given the stock's recent price deterioration across all major timeframes.
Meta Platforms Earnings Outlook
Meta Platforms has delivered mixed earnings results across recent quarters, according to company earnings reports. In the most recently reported quarter, Meta posted earnings per share of $8.88 against analyst estimates of $8.19, representing a positive surprise of $0.69. The following quarter continued the beat trend, with actual EPS of $7.31 exceeding the $6.67 consensus estimate by $0.64. However, the most recent reported result showed EPS of $6.18 falling short of the $7.18 estimate by $1.00, marking a notable miss. Looking ahead, analyst estimates project EPS of $8.36 for the upcoming reporting period dated February 2026, per analyst estimates. The earnings trajectory demonstrates quarterly variability, with the $1.00 miss in the latest period representing the largest deviation from consensus. This inconsistency in meeting expectations may contribute to the stock's recent underperformance, as investors recalibrate forward growth assumptions amid Meta's significant infrastructure spending commitments.
Wall Street Analyst Ratings for META
Wall Street analyst coverage of Meta Platforms remains predominantly constructive despite the stock's recent decline, per SID consensus data. In the most recent rating actions from August 2026, Truist Securities reiterated a Buy rating, while Evercore ISI Group maintained its Outperform designation, according to Wall Street analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an Overweight rating following the late July earnings release. Notably, Benchmark and Needham both maintained Hold ratings, providing a counterbalance to the bullish consensus. Across the five most recent analyst actions, three firms carry positive ratings — Buy, Outperform, and Overweight — while two firms hold neutral positions. No analyst among the recent coverage universe has issued a Sell or Underperform rating. The absence of downgrades is notable given META's 10.71% decline over the trailing twelve months and its sustained trading below key moving averages. The prevailing analyst view suggests that the current pullback is viewed as a valuation adjustment rather than a fundamental deterioration.
