By Senad Karaahmetovic
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) shares are up over 3% in pre-open Monday after analysts weighed in positively on the company’s plans to cut its operating expenses.
The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Meta is planning to reduce its workforce this weak. The cut is expected to affect “many thousands” of workers, a piece of news that “isn’t completely shocking,” according to VitalKnowledge analysts.
Analysts have called for Meta to cuts its operating expenses by a couple of billion on an annual basis to balance the slowing growth.
Meta shares are down more than 30% in the last weeks following the company’s disappointing earnings. For Itau BBA analysts, the selloff has created an attractive buying opportunity in Meta shares.
“While we have been bearish on the story for more than a year, we believe that the current price reflects an extremely bearish scenario, making it worth at least a small position (maybe medium size),” they said in a client note.
“The right price has finally come,” the analysts added after being very negative on Meta stock.
“We believe that META is finally pricing in an extreme bearish scenario, in which: i) META will sustain an insane level of cash spend (capex + opex); and ii) revenues will remain depressed, given a potential disruption (from Apple, TikTok, or META’s own faulty execution).”
Overall, Meta shares remain down over 30% year-to-end.