Meta Platforms Stock Is Moving Lower Thursday: What's Going On?

Meta Platforms Inc META shares are trading lower Thursday on the heels of the company's third-quarter financial results. 

What Happened: Meta said third-quarter revenue increased 23% year-over-year to $34.15 billion, which came in ahead of estimates. The company reported third-quarter earnings of $4.39 per share, which was up 168% year-over-year.

Family daily active people were up 7% year-over-year at 3.14 billion. Family monthly actives were also up 7% at 3.96 billion. Daily active Facebook users came in at 2.09 billion, up 5% year-over-year. Monthly active users on Facebook totaled 3.05 billion, up 3%. 

Ad impressions in the third quarter climbed 31% year-over-year, while price per ad fell 6%. 

CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the work the company has done to advance AI and mixed reality through the launch of Quest 3, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Meta's AI studio.

Meta said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to be in the range of $36.5 billion to $40 billion versus estimates of $36.46 billion. The company sees full-year expenses between $87 billion and $89 billion, down from a prior outlook of $88 billion to $91 billion. 

On a conference call following the print, CFO Susan Li warned that ad spending had been volatile so far in the fourth quarter as a result of the war in the Middle East. Shares initially traded higher when Meta reported, but reversed and moved lower following Li's cautious commentary. 

Check This Out: Trading Strategies For Meta Platforms Stock After Q3 Earnings

On Thursday, Keybanc analyst Justin Patterson maintained Meta with an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $356 to $380. Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $372 to $411. Barclays analyst Ross Sandler maintained Overweight and lowered the price target from $410 to $400.

META Price Action: Meta shares were down 3.81% at $287.90 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.