3. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 225
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), operating under the brand name Meta, and previously known as Facebook, Inc. and TheFacebook, Inc., is a major American multinational technology conglomerate headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The company possesses and manages a diverse portfolio of products and services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and various others. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) recently introduced AI tools for image editing on Instagram, along with new chat stickers. Analysts at Barclays are optimistic that these AI-driven initiatives may contribute to increased engagement across Meta’s social apps in 2024, potentially resulting in a substantial boost to the company’s core advertising revenue, estimated at $16 billion.
As of the conclusion of the second quarter in 2023, 225 out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey disclosed holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META). The largest stakeholder during this period was Citadel Investment Group, led by Ken Griffin.
Here’s what Rowan Street Capital said about Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its third-quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META): $550 billion rebound in market cap in less than a year.
A deep dive into what is driving the optimism for the stock.
It’s been exactly 11 months since we published an article: “Does a $750 billion decline in Meta’s market cap make sense?” META is up +240% since then compared to the S&P 500 advance of +13.5% over the same time period. We will examine what drove this abnormal return. But first, we can’t help but wonder: How is it possible for a trillion dollar company to first drop -75% to $268 billion in market cap and then skyrocket +250% to over $800 billion in market cap all in just less than 2 years. We are not talking about some micro-cap company here. META is the 7th largest company in the world. It is very well-known to everybody and is covered by 45+ analysts.
Are the markets really efficient when you witness this kind of a phenomenon?
Our belief is that the markets have actually become a lot less efficient over the short term with the proliferation of the internet, smart-phones, social media and effortless access to information. This is counterintuitive to what the academics teach us, but that is the way it has worked in reality. We will spare you further discussion on the efficiency of the markets as the purpose of this note was to discuss our investment in META. We wanted to share this observation and be clear that we are not exactly complaining here. Part of our job as fund managers is to exploit these market inefficiencies and drive value to the Rowan portfolio over the long run. And over the long run, the markets do a pretty good job in valuing companies…” (Click here to read the full text)
