Meta Stock Trades Below Three of Its Four Key Averages Ahead of Earnings

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META ) shares are in the spotlight Thursday, with earnings on deck, recent analyst activity, a mixed technical setup and a lingering death cross all drawing attention.

Meta Platforms stock is under selling pressure.

Why are META shares declining? Earnings Preview & History Meta is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on July 29.

Analysts estimate EPS of $7.18 along with revenue of $60.22 billion.

For the prior quarter, Meta Platforms reported EPS of $7.31, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67.

The company also posted revenue of $56.31 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $55.54 billion.

Meta Platforms has beaten EPS estimates in eight consecutive quarters.

Over the last four quarters, the company has averaged an EPS surprise of 0.12% and a revenue surprise of 0.03%.

What To Watch Investors will be watching Meta’s family-of-apps user trends for early signs that Europe’s youth-access restrictions are affecting engagement, since even small usage shifts can ripple into ad inventory and pricing.

Advertising revenue growth relative to pricing and impressions is another key area to track, given the $60.22 billion revenue target hinges on strong ad demand alongside Reels and AI-driven discovery.

Updates on AI monetization, including Advantage+ performance and returns on AI infrastructure spending, will also be closely followed as the market focuses on the gap between AI investment and results.

A Death Cross Still Casts a Shadow Over Meta Stock Meta is trading 0.8% below its 20-day SMA ($615.93) and 0.9% below its 100-day SMA ($616.32), while holding 0.8% above its 50-day SMA ($606.09).

That "tug-of-war" positioning often produces choppy trade, and it helps explain why the stock can feel heavy on down-futures mornings even if the longer trend isn’t breaking.

RSI is the cleaner momentum read right now: at 51.71, it’s basically neutral, which fits a stock that’s consolidating rather than trending hard.

In plain terms, RSI helps gauge whether buying or selling has gotten stretched; near-50 readings usually mean neither side has clear control.

The bigger-picture trend is still mixed: the 20-day SMA is above the 50-day SMA (a near-term bullish tilt), but the death cross from December 2025 (50-day SMA below the 200-day SMA) keeps the longer-term trend filter cautious.

Zooming out, the stock remains 4.4% below its 200-day SMA ($639.20), and that overhead area can act like "gravity" on rebounds.

From a levels standpoint, traders will likely keep an eye on nearby pivots: Key Resistance: $643.00 — a nearby round-number zone that also sits close to the 200-day moving-average area, where rebounds can stall Key Support: $577.00 — a nearby prior demand zone that sits well above the $520.26 52-week low, but would matter if selling pressure builds Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $820.81.

Recent analyst moves include: Raymond James: Strong Buy (Raises Target to $850.00) (July 21) Wells Fargo: Overweight (Raises Target to $835.00) (July 21) Rothschild & Co: Buy (Raises Target to $1000.00) (July 21) Read Also: Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Futures Slip As GOOGL, Elon Musk's TSLA Drag After Q2 Earnings—Intel, ServiceNow, Quantumscape in Focus Meta Shares Slip META Price Action: At the time of publication, Meta shares are trading 2.76% lower at $609.82, according to data Pro.

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