Meta Rebounds 1.35 as Volume Slides 43.59 to 8.26 Billion but Holds Seventh in U.S. Equity Activity

On October 2, 2025, Meta (META) closed with a 1.35% gain, marking a modest rebound despite a 43.59% decline in daily trading volume to $8.26 billion. The stock ranked seventh in overall trading activity across U.S. equities, reflecting mixed investor sentiment amid evolving market dynamics.

Recent developments highlighted Meta’s strategic focus on AI-driven advertising platforms, with executives emphasizing enhanced user engagement metrics in Q3. Analysts noted that the company’s pivot to real-time ad optimization tools could bolster long-term revenue streams, though near-term volatility remains tied to macroeconomic uncertainty and sector-wide profit-taking.

Investor attention also centered on regulatory developments, including a U.S. Senate hearing scrutinizing data privacy practices across social media platforms. While no immediate policy changes were announced, the session underscored ongoing scrutiny that may influence investor risk appetite for tech stocks in the coming quarters.

To run this back-test rigorously I need to clear up a few practical details that the tool set (and the underlying data) require. Could you please confirm or adjust the following points? 1. Universe • Do we screen the entire U.S. equity universe (common shares listed on NYSE + NASDAQ + AMEX), or a narrower list (e.g., S&P 1500 constituents)? • ADRs, ETFs and preferred shares: include or exclude? 2. Ranking metric • “Daily trading volume” – do you want to rank by: a) number of shares traded, or b) dollar volume (shares × close price)? • On which price do we form the ranking (usually previous day’s close so that today’s list is known before today’s open)? 3. Execution assumptions • Entry: buy at today’s open, or today’s close? • Exit: sell at next day’s close, or next day’s open? • Weighting: equal weight across the 500 names? • Slippage / commissions: assume zero unless you’d like to specify costs. 4. Benchmark / output • Any particular benchmark you want reported alongside the strategy (e.g., S&P 500 TR)? • Performance metrics: besides cumulative return and max drawdown, do you need anything else (Sharpe, turnover, etc.)? Once these points are settled I can generate the buy/sell signals and run the back-test from 2022-01-01 to the present.