Jim Cramer Apologizes For Recommending Meta Platforms Stock At Higher Levels: 'I Failed To Help People, And I Own That'

Jim Cramer has been a buyer of Meta Platforms Inc META shares since the stock fell below $200 earlier this year. With the stock trading around $100 following weak earnings results, the "Mad Money" host is jumping ship, citing poor management. 

"I made a mistake here. I was wrong. I trusted this management team. That was ill-advised," Cramer said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk On The Street."

What To Know: Cramer has been pounding the table on Meta's valuation for the majority of the year, while several analysts backed off as the company shifted its focus to the metaverse. He even called a bottom in the name with the stock trading at around $190 per share.

"The stock's trading like the whole metaverse thing is just one big joke," Cramer said at the time. 

Meta reported a free cash flow of more than $9.5 billion in the third quarter of 2021. On Wednesday, the company reported a third-quarter free cash flow of $173 million, according to Benzinga Pro. Meta noted it repurchased $6.55 billion of its common stock during the third quarter. 

See Also: Zuckerberg Says Facebook Parent Doing 'Leading Work' In Metaverse: 'On Right Track With These Investments'

Cramer explained that he expected Meta's management to cap spending so that it would not burn all of its free cash flow, but that didn't happen.

"The hubris here is extraordinary and I apologize," he said. "This situation is almost a rogue situation."

Cramer noted he was wrong to trust Meta's management team instead of himself and seemed shocked at the company's lack of discipline.

"For that I regret. I've been in this business for 40 years, I did a bad job. I am not proud," Cramer said.

"I come out here and I try to help people every day. And I failed to help people, and I own that."

META Price Action: Meta is making new 52-week lows on Thursday. The stock was down 22.2% at $101.01 at publication time.

What else has Jim Cramer been saying? Click here to find out more. 

Photo: Owen Byrne via Flickr Creative Commons