Cathie Wood’s ARK line of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has made headlines once again, this time by trimming its stake in Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META), for the first time in nearly a year.
Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) offloaded 12,595 shares of Meta stock worth approximately $7.62 million on March 17, followed by an additional 2,160 shares the next trading day. The move comes as Meta’s stock performance weakened amid a broader pullback in tech stocks.
Ark funds had been consistently adding to their Meta holdings throughout 2024, with over 460,000 shares held by year-end. However, Wood’s decision to sell suggests growing caution toward large-cap tech stocks, which have recently lost momentum.
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On February 18, Meta stock dropped nearly 4%, wiping out its year-to-date gains and turning negative for 2025. It now joins the rest of the Magnificent Seven tech stocks, all of which have slipped into negative territory this year. At press time, Meta stock is trading at $583.43.
Meta’s AI milestone fails to stop stock slide
Interestingly, Meta’s slump deepened despite the company hitting a significant artificial intelligence milestone. On March 18, Meta announced that its open-source AI models, known as Llama, had surpassed 1 billion downloads.
This marks a sharp rise from the 170 million downloads reported in May 2024—a nearly six-fold increase in under a year.
Moreover, Meta is gearing up for the launch of Llama 4, expected to power AI agents with advanced reasoning capabilities, further strengthening Meta’s leadership in the AI space.
Analysts take on META
Wall Street sentiment on Meta remains mixed despite its recent stock weakness. On the bullish side, J.P. Morgan has named Meta one of its top internet stock picks to navigate tough economic conditions, with analyst Doug Anmuth reiterating a Buy rating and setting a $725 price target, implying a 25% upside from current levels.
The bank highlighted Meta’s AI dominance, particularly the upcoming Llama 4 launch, as a key driver of long-term growth and monetization.
The firm also pointed to Meta’s massive advertiser base, with tens of millions of advertisers and over 80% of ad revenue derived from performance and direct response (DR) ads, providing a solid foundation for revenue growth even during economic uncertainty.
However, not all analysts share the same optimism. KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Justin Patterson recently lowered his price target for Meta to $710 from $750, citing heightened macroeconomic risks and growing cost pressures.
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