Meta Platforms (META) stock is down from its post-Q2 earnings peak. It could be a buy here for patient investors. This article will explore three ways to play it using put and call options for the value investor.
Meta closed at $754.79 on Friday, August 22, down from a closing high of $790.00 on August 12. Meta’s Q2 earnings were released on July 30, when it was at $695.21. But the next day it rose to $773.44. So, since then, META stock has dropped.
META stock – last 3 months – Barchart – Aug. 22, 2025
I argued in a July 31 Barchart article that META stock might be worth $800.85 per share (“META Stock Soars and Options Volume Explodes – Is META Fully Valued?“). That was based on its free cash flow (FCF) and FCF margins.
This means there is a potential upside of +6.1% (i.e., $800.85/$754.79 = 0.061) for new investors in META stock. That’s not much.
But there are ways to play this using options that might make sense for value investors.
This involves shorting out-of-the-money (OTM) puts, and/or a combination of buying longer-dated in-the-money (ITM) calls and shorting near-term OTM calls.
For example, look at the Sept. 26 expiry period, for put contracts expiring about a month from now (33 days to expiry). It shows that the $725.00 strike price put contract, which is almost $30 or about 4% below the closing price (i.e., is out-of-the-money or OTM), has an attractive midpoint premium of $12.40.
That means a short-seller of these puts can make an immediate yield of 1.71% (i.e., $12.40/$725.00).
META puts expiring Sept. 26, 2025 – Barchart – As of Aug. 22, 2025
This is because the investor who secures $72,500 with their brokerage firm (i.e., collateral posted to buy 100 shares at $725.00), is allowed to enter a trade order to “Sell to Open” 1 put contract at $725.00 for expiry on Sept. 26. The account immediately receives $1,240 (i.e., $1,240/$72,500 = 0.0171 = 1.71%).
As long as META stays over $725.00 until Sept. 26, the investor’s collateral will not be assigned to buy 100 shares at $725.00….
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