How to buy META shares like the pros do
In this article, we will reflect on the company META, formerly Facebook. We will see what it is, its objectives, its founder, and, above all, a step-by-step guide on how to buy META shares and why it is interesting.
What is META?
META Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook Inc., is a multinational technology company based in Menlo Park, California. Founded in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, the company initially started as a social network for university students before expanding to include users of all ages around the world.
The name change to META Platforms Inc. was announced in October 2021 as part of the company’s new vision to build “the metaverse”, an immersive 3D digital space where people could work, play and connect in new and more meaningful ways. This brand change represents a departure from the company’s traditional focus on social networks towards a future more focused on virtual and augmented reality.
General data of META (Facebook)
- Matrix: Meta Platforms
- Ticker: META
- ISIN:. US30303M1027
- Where is it quoted?: Nasdaq
Who is Mark Zuckerberg at Meta?
As an applied Harvard student, at only 19 years old, Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his university dormitory in 2004, an initially designed platform to connect Harvard students that ended up being the seed of what we now know as Facebook, and later META Platforms Inc. Shortly after, Zuckerberg left the university and moved to California to expand his emerging digital empire, thus demonstrating that learning and success do not always follow conventional paths.
Mark Zuckerberg, current CEO of Meta
Zuckerberg, now one of the richest men in the world, has become an iconic figure in modern culture, representing the possibility of altering entire industries with an innovative idea and the determination to see it realized. His vision of “the metaverse,” an alternative digital universe where people can interact in more immersive and meaningful ways – marks a new chapter in his vision, making him one of the most influential entrepreneurs of the 21st century.
Give people the power to build a community and bring the world closer together
Quote from Mark Zuckerberg about developing the Metaverse.
However, we already know that CEO and founder are not synonymous with the owner, so who are the people who maintain the ownership of the social media giant?
Let’s take a look at the following chart from Statista:
Major shareholders of Meta Platforms in March 2023 | Source: Statista
As we can see, the financial force behind META Platforms Inc. is in the hands of a few corporate titans.
- Mark Zuckerberg: The founder himself remains the largest individual shareholder, owning 14% of the company and having significant control over the company’s strategic decisions.
- The Vanguard Group: The investment fund giant follows with approximately half of the ownership, 7.7%.
- BlackRock and Fidelity: Of course, there are two other investment giants that manage a substantial portion of META’s shares.
Other notable financial entities on the list of significant shareholders include FMR, LLC, and T. Rowe Price Associates, which also hold significant stakes.
The story of Facebook: From Stanford University to over a billion users
It all started in 2004 when Mark Zuckerberg, along with his college mates, created a social network called “Facebook” at Stanford University. The idea was to bring students together in one place so they could communicate with each other, and it worked, as the platform became very popular among students and soon expanded to other universities in the United States.
Over time, Facebook became a worldwide social network and began to add tools to make it more attractive to users. These tools included features such as chat, the wall, the newsfeed, and the ability to share photos, videos, and content in general.
Nevertheless, it was the introduction of advertising on the platform that allowed companies to advertise their products and services directly to users and gain greater visibility. This also meant more income for the company that helped finance the unstoppable growth of Facebook.
Since then, Facebook has experienced impressive growth. At the beginning of 2016, the platform had more than one billion users worldwide, making it the largest and most popular social network in the world.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The discovery that a data analysis firm based in the UK, Cambridge Analytica, used personal information from tens of millions of people without their authorization, caused a big change in the online advertising industry.
The scandal began in early 2018, when it was discovered that Facebook illegally obtained personal information from more than 50 million Facebook users without their consent. This information was used to create software capable of predicting and manipulating users’ political opinions. This caused a great stir, as many Facebook users were wondering how their personal information was being used without their consent.
Zuckerberg testifying in the US Congress in 2018
And indeed, the CEO of Facebook (now Meta), was called to testify before the US Congress in April 2018.
How to buy META stocks in 2023 in 5 steps: practical example with freedom24
Let’s now see how to buy META (Facebook) stocks easily, in just five steps.
Step 1: open an account at freedom24
Go to the Freedom24 website.
Go to the ‘open an account’ section. Enter your email and create a password
Step 1: Register on the Freedom24 website
Once this is done, you will receive an email in your inbox, and you just have to follow the steps to sign up for Freedom24 and verify your identity.
The entire process takes less than 10 minutes.
Step 2: Make a minimum deposit
The next step will be to make our first deposit in Freedom24, for this, once inside the broker, we will go to the top right and we will click on “Replenish” (Green and red box of the screenshot)
Step 2: Make the minimum deposit in Freedom24
You can choose between card or bank transfer. Follow the steps on the page to make your first deposit.
There is no commission and the minimum deposit in Freedom24 is 1 euro.
Step 3: Search for the META action with ticker META
Next, search for the action in the Freedom24 search engine. On the main screen, in the search bar, write down META, its ticker symbol (which is also META), or its ISIN.
In my case, and as you can see in the screenshot below, I will write META and click on the second option (red box), which is the META Platforms company.
Step 4: set the purchase order
Once we click on META, the Freedom24 trading center will open for us. On it, on the right side of the screen, we will set the conditions of the order.
In my case, I will choose a limited order, which means that the action will only be bought if the price reaches the price limit that I mark. To configure it, we will go to the drop-down box where it says “by market”, and we will change it to “limit” (red box), as seen in the screenshot just above.
Then we will put the price at which if it arrives we want to buy the shares. In my case, I will put it at 307.25€, which means that if it now marks 312€/share the quotation, until the share does not reach that price, the limited order will not be executed.
Below, in units, input the number of shares you are looking to buy, I will indicate 3.
Since I don’t want leverage, I will ignore the “order configuration” box.
- Remember that if you open an account at Freedom24, it has a promotion without commissions for the first 30 days from the date of opening the account.
- After that, the commission per share is 0.02€/share (minimum 2$).
Finally, if we agree with everything, we click on the green buy button, which you can see in the previous screenshot, and confirm the order summary.
And ready, we will have bought shares of META, and we will be shareholders of Mark Zuckerberg’s company.
👉 Want to know more interesting companies? | Discover the following article: Best stocks to invest in the stock market.
Where can I buy Meta stocks? | more alternatives
I leave you with other brokers, where it may be interesting to buy META stocks, due to its security, platform, and commissions.
DEGIRO
- 🏆 Regulation: BaFiN (Germany)
- 💲 Commissions: 2€
- 📈 Platform: Own and mobile App. Very intuitive
XTB
- 🏆 Regulation: KNF, FCA, and registered with the CNMV.
- 💲 Commissions: 0€
- 📈 Platform: xStation 5 and Mobile App. Intermediate level.
ActivTrades
- 🏆 Regulation: CSSF (Luxembourg) | Registered with CNMV
- 💲 Commissions: 0.02 euros/share (minimum 1 €)
- 📈 Platform: ActivTrader (own), TradingView, MT4, and MT5.
As META is part of the NASDAQ 100 index, it is only necessary to buy one share to be a shareholder of the Californian company.
And even less, thanks to the number of brokers that are already starting to offer fractional investment services, you can be a shareholder of META by buying as little as a percentage of one share, in many cases from 10 euros, as is the case with XTB.
👉 For more information check out, How to invest in the Nasdaq?
How much does META pay in dividends in 2023?
Currently, META Platforms does not pay dividends. It prefers to reinvest all its profits in its own business model, which serves to constantly innovate, as has been the case with the Oculus VR glasses, or the famous Metaverso -although this last one did not turn out so well-.
But, why could it be interesting to invest in META Platforms? These are some of them.
FAANG moves the SP500 index
Today, the S&P 500 index is one of the most important economic indicators to measure the performance of the US economy.
In it, only 10 of these 500 values weigh 30% of the index. In fact, the large increases in the US indices, basically rest on the fact that only the FAANG and 3 or 4 Artificial Intelligence companies have increased their valuation, such as the case of NVIDIA.
See what weight they have in the index, each of the 10 most important companies in the US, with META being one of them.
👉 More information, kindly check out the article How to invest in the SP500?
META: More than just Facebook- It’s a whole holding
META Platforms (META) is composed of a team of leading companies in the world of technology. So we can say that it is much more than that already somewhat aged social network, which is Facebook. Not in vain, some of the other companies included in this technological holding are:
- Messenger
- Oculus VR
- Horizon
Social networks are already essential in our lives.
More and more people are connecting to their social media accounts to search for information, connect with friends, share content and even work. According to a study, users worldwide spend an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes a day on social networks.
In Spain, WhatsApp is the social network to which we dedicate more time, an average of 1 hour and 27 minutes. We also spend about an hour and a half listening to music on Spotify. We dedicate an hour to watching videos on Youtube and an hour to watching Instagram. Tiktok rises in the ranking among those under 30 years old.
It is a pioneer in investing in Artificial Intelligence
Meta Platform is also participating in the development of new products and services that include the development of AI platforms, predictive analysis tools, data storage systems, and machine learning technologies.
META Platforms offers online advertising solutions through various social network platforms, such as Facebook or Instagram. In fact, we could say that this is its main business by far.
For example, in 2021, according to a study by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), more than 70% of online advertising was shared between Google and Meta. And most likely, these figures will not change much compared to other Western countries.
I leave you with a graph of the expected income for Meta in the coming years, only in terms of digital advertising through its different social networks.
Knowing how to rectify on time
The metaverse was seen as an opportunity for users to interact with each other, experience new virtual realities and share unique experiences. However, Meta Platforms decided to backtrack on the development of this technology.
And although the project certainly seemed ambitious, after investing the whopping 10 billion dollars, no result seemed to be coming in a minimum horizon of 10 years -possibly more-. This severely punished the valuation of the company’s shares throughout 2022.
Meta stock quote | how much are they worth?
Currently, META Platforms shares are trading above $300 per share. In other words, the company’s value has doubled since 2017.
This shows the success of the platform and the great interest it has generated in the social networks and digital advertising industry.
In addition, it is also noteworthy if we appreciate the graph, its quick recovery after hitting bottom in 2022, in an unstoppable fall, in which more than 75% of its market capitalization was left.
2022’s downward spiral
And, as we were pointing out above, we could say that from now on, META marked a very important support touching historical lows around 90 dollars per share, a valuation that was not seen since 2015, when the company recorded a growth boom.
What’s more, neither the Cambridge Analytica scandals nor the crash of 2020 due to Covid lowered the price of its quotation so much. And as we have pointed out above, two factors came together in the year 2022:
- The mistake of continuing with the idea of developing the Metaverse, which was still very far away.
- A historic rise in interest rates ended cheap financing after 15 years.
Investing in META opinions 2023
Investing in Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook, has generated various opinions among analysts, although the majority clearly point in the direction of buying
According to Yahoo Finance, 57 analysts have rated META stock. Of those, 48 (18 aggressive buys + 30 buys) recommend buying the stock, while 7 recommend holding and 2 recommend selling. This gives META an average analyst rating of 1.9, on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is a strong buy and 5 is a strong sell.
In any case, we must never stop looking at the profitability generated during the year 2023, and META’s has been simply spectacular, with a revaluation of more than 200% since it hit bottom in October 2022.
This does not mean that the company cannot continue to grow, it can. However, we must be careful not to expect the pace to which we were accustomed during the first semester of 2023, since at the present time it is very close to historical highs.
Who are the other FAANGs?
As we already know, the rest of the FAANGs are composed of tech companies with high capitalization and leaders in each of their subsectors.
Here are the companies that make up the FAANG:
- Facebook -or META- (Social Networks)
- Apple (Mobile Technology)
- Amazon (E-commerce and clouding)
- Netflix (Streaming) ( Check out this guide on How to invest in Netflix shares. | 5-step Guide)
- Google (Online search engine)
Pros and cons of investing in META
Investing in Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, has its advantages and disadvantages. Here I present you some pros and cons that you could consider:
Pros:
✅ Dominance of the Social Media Market
✅ King of Digital Advertising, especially Social Media
✅ Diversified income streams, in various complementary businesses.
✅ Continuous innovation.
✅ Solid financial position, despite the venture into the metaverse.
Cons:
❌ Concerns about privacy, which could drive away many young users to Web 3 and blockchain data alternatives.
❌ Regulation and governmental scrutiny, as in Europe is the new DMA law (Digital Markets Law)
❌ Dependence on advertising.
Still, are you already invested in META, or after reading this article do you consider it’s time to start buying META shares? Remember that although it remains the queen of social networks, it is much more than that: It is one of the few companies in the world that continues to explore the future of technology.
FAQs
You can buy META shares through a brokerage firm. There are many different brokerage firms to choose from, so it is important to compare them before you decide which one to use. Some factors to consider include the fees charged by the brokerage firm, the types of investments they offer, and the level of customer service they provide.
What is the role of government in regulating the metaverse?
Governments will need to play a role in regulating the metaverse to ensure that it is used safely and ethically. Governments will need to address issues such as privacy, data protection, and child safety.
What is the future of the metaverse?
The future of the metaverse is uncertain, but it has the potential to be a major disruptive technology. It is possible that the metaverse could become the next major platform for communication, work, and entertainment. However, it is also possible that the metaverse could fail to live up to its hype and become a niche technology.
