Stock Spotlight: Meta faces reality as problems pile up

Stock price down 49.8% since name change

Since announcing it was changing its name from Facebook in October 2021, Meta has fallen from investor grace, entering the Russell 1000 Value index for the first time in its history.

Meta's stock price has crashed 49.8% since it adopted its new name, according to Morningstar, with the value almost constantly on a steady decline, including a plummet in February this year after the firm reported its first ever quarter-on-quarter fall of daily active users. Andy Headley, fund manager at Veritas Asset Management and one of the global stock pickers for Alliance Trust, warned the firm was "still dealing with the major factors that have precipitated the decline in the share price," adding that none of the issues have a "quick fix". Analysts agreed Meta's decline had come...