Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) was trading at approximately $608.26 on Friday, May 22, moving within a session range of $605.70 to $614.81 in notably subdued volume of 3.3 million shares against a 12.97 million daily average.
The stock’s 52-week range extends from $520.26 to $796.25, meaning META has given back a significant portion of its earlier highs and is now trading roughly 23% below its annual peak.
The company’s market capitalisation stands at approximately $1.54 trillion, with a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of around 22.
The dominant stock-specific story on Friday was Meta’s launch of a standalone app called Forum, a new product directly targeting Facebook Groups users and positioning itself as a competitor to Reddit.
Reddit shares fell sharply in response, with investors interpreting Forum as a credible threat to Reddit’s core community discussion use case.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was also in the news this week, defending the company’s decision to lay off approximately 8,000 workers as the company accelerates its push into AI.
The company’s Q1 2026 earnings per share of $10.44 significantly exceeded analyst estimates of $6.70, representing a positive surprise of nearly 56%.
Meta’s revenue for the latest quarter reached $56.31 billion, marginally above the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion.
Snap, Meta, and Roblox confirmed commitments to stronger anti-grooming measures this week following guidance from Ofcom, the UK communications regulator.
The average 12-month analyst price target for META is $826.60, implying upside of approximately 35% from Friday’s close, with 63 analysts carrying buy ratings on the stock.
