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Wall Street's main indexes were set to bounce back on Wednesday following a sharp selloff triggered by concerns over rising inflation and the new Omicron variant, while shares of Merck jumped on progress in approval of its COVID-19 pill.

LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Britain is learning from past mistakes. Its competition watchdog on Tuesday ordered Facebook owner Meta Platforms to sell Giphy, a database of cartoonish clips for use in online banter and advertising. The 2020 d

Facebook risks missing the point of metaverse - and a coming shift in consumers' behaviour - if it fails to permit digital ownership, according to some of the virtual world's pioneers.

Facebook owner Meta Platforms (FB) has been ordered by the UK competition authority to offload Giphy, a platform for animated images. Reuters reports that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) believes a merger of the two will reduce competition in the social media space by allowing Facebook to add to its significant market power. FB shares fell 4.01% to close at $324.46 on November 30.

Facebook is a social networking company that develops applications that enable people to connect through mobile devices and personal computers.

Facebook - Giphy Stalemate

The competition watchdog has also warned that Facebook's acquisition of Giphy reduces competition in the display advertising segment. Facebook acquired Giphy in 2020 for about $400 million, as it sought to integrate its operations with its photo-sharing app, Instagram. Giphy has made a name for itself by offering a platform for making and sharing animated images of GIFs. (See Top Smart Score Stocks on TipRanks)

Stuart McIntosh, the chair of the independent investigation on Facebook-Giphy for the CMA, insists that the business combination reduces a significant challenger in the display advertising market. Consequently, pushing Facebook to divest Giphy will go a long way in protecting millions of social media users, according to the investigation. Facebook offloading the unit is also expected to promote competition and innovation in the display advertising space.

Reuters reports that Facebook disagrees with the decisions and plans to appeal the CMA's decision. This is not the first time the social networking giant has found itself at a crossroads with the CMA. In October, the company was hit with a $70 million fine for breaching an order pertaining to the Giphy acquisition.

Stock Rating

In October, Bank of America Securities analyst Justin Post reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $400 price target, implying 10% upside potential to current levels. According to the analyst, Facebook rebranding to Meta is a step in the right direction, as it affirms the importance of the company's non-Facebook apps, such as Instagram and WhatsApp.

Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy, based on 29 Buys, 5 Holds, and 1 Sell. The average Meta price target of $406.31 implies 25.23% upside potential to current levels.

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Alphabet Inc's Google said on Wednesday it will ban political advertising on its platform in the run-up to Philippine elections in May next year to choose a successor to President Rodrigo Duterte.

Australia will conduct a wide-ranging parliamentary inquiry into the behaviour of the world's largest technology companies and the need for new legislation, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday.

Twitter’s Jack Dorsey has announced his resignation, effective immediately, as CEO, and while he will remain a board member for now, it will only be until his term expires in 2022, reports CNBC. Chief technology office Parag Agrawal will be stepping into the CEO role. Dorsey has believed him to be ready to lead the company [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.

5 Hot Social Media Stocks For Your December WatchlistThe pandemic and the ensuing global lockdowns have brought renewed interest in social media stocks in the stock market. After all, what can people use to connect with friends and family members if not social media? Confined to

What happened Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB) -- the artist formerly known as Facebook -- tumbled 3.5% in Tuesday afternoon trading, as of 3:20 p.m. ET, after Reuters reported that Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered the company to divest itself of

In trading on Tuesday, shares of Meta Platforms Inc (Symbol: FB) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $328.12, changing hands as low as $325.80 per share. Meta Platforms Inc shares are currently trading off about 3.4% on the day. The chart below shows the one year pe

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is one of the tech giants that has carried the stock market since the pandemic started, but it might not be the best option for growth investors. You might be able to get just as much growth with substantially less risk by owning the entire Nasdaq 100 index

Technology stocks were dipping in premarket Tuesday. The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) was 0.6% lower and the Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (SOXX) was down 0.8% recently.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (FB), earlier known as Facebook, announced that it has postponed the change of the ticker symbol of its Class A common shares till Q1 2022.

Earlier, the company had stated that the ticker symbol will change from FB to MVRS on December 1, 2021. 

Meanwhile, Meta's Class A common stock will continue to be listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol 'FB'. (See FB stock charts on TipRanks)

The company will announce more details at the time of the ticker change in the first quarter of 2022.

See Analysts’ Top Stocks on TipRanks >>

Wall Street’s Take

Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 29 Buys, 5 Holds, and 1 Sell. The average Facebook analyst price target of $406.31 implies 20.2% upside potential to current levels.

Bloggers Weigh In

TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 93% Bullish on FB, compared to a sector average of 69%.

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Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison will on Wednesday announce a parliamentary inquiry into the behaviour of the world's largest technology companies and the need for new legislation.

Britain's competition regulator said on Tuesday it has directed Facebook owner Meta Platforms to sell animated images platform Giphy after finding that the deal could harm social media users and UK advertisers.

(RTTNews) - The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK has concluded that Facebook's acquisition of Giphy would reduce competition. The CMA found that Giphy's advertising services had the potential to compete with Facebook's own display advertising services. Facebook termina

Facebook-owner Meta said on Tuesday it disagreed with the British competition regulator's ruling that it must sell animated images platform Giphy.

Britain's competition regulator said on Tuesday it has directed Facebook owner Meta Platforms to sell animated images platform Giphy, after finding that the deal could harm social media users and UK advertisers.

(RTTNews) - Social media giant Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) said Monday that it will postpone the change to its Class A common stock ticker symbol until first-quarter of 2022. The company had previously announced its plans to change its ticker symbol, effect

What happened Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB) climbed higher on Monday, adding as much as 2.3% in early trading, though the stock ended the session up by just 1.5%.