Meta snaps out of historic slump with first record high in years

Meta Platforms Inc. shares closed at their first record high in more than two years on Friday, as the Facebook parent fully recovers from a selloff that at one point had erased more than three-fourths of its value.

The stock rose about 2% to $383.45, surpassing an all-time high that has stood since September 2021.

The record is the latest milestone in a lengthy recovery for the stock. Shares nearly tripled in 2023, outperforming even in a positive year for megacaps as investors embraced the company’s focus on efficiency and cost cutting. It is up more than 300% off the low hit in 2022.

The stock continues to look like a good investment, even after last year’s performance, according to Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik.

“Management has done an exceptional job rebuilding the narrative around a company that is now the trifecta gold standard of a compounding grower + disciplined operator + AI winner,” he wrote in a note to clients.

Meta’s selloff, which exceeded 75% at maximum, is unmatched in the megacap era and featured a historic loss of market value. Concerns over the amount the company is spending on its metaverse initiative were a key factor driving the stock’s sharp losses.

Pulling back on that spending, coupled with a rebound in revenue growth, has led to Wall Street re-embracing the stock. In addition, even with the stock’s advance, it continues to look like a bargain relative to other names within big tech. The stock trades at around 21 times forward earnings, below its 10-year average, and under the 25 multiple of the Nasdaq 100 Index.