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Dan Ives, Yorkville Ives and Co. partner, joins 'Fast Money' to talk Meta and Apple's recently announced partnership.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) stock has pulled well ahead of its megacap peers on the strength of its newest artificial intelligence (AI) model. Shares of Meta Platforms are up 0.

By all early accounts, Meta Platforms' (META +0.51%) new Muse AI agent is a huge success. The app has an estimated 3 million weekly users and has been at the top of Apple's (AAPL +0.46%) App Store for several weeks.

Meta shareholders have driven the company's stock up more than 20% since Muse launched, optimistic that the company has figured out how to monetize AI.

Call me a skeptic, but I'm not sold on the idea that Muse will be the catalyst some investors hope for. For one, Meta will burn through $145 billion in AI data center spending this year. Even selling a heck of a lot of Muse subscriptions won't come close to recouping those costs.

Secondly, virtually every major tech company is moving in the same agentic AI direction. The market is already getting crowded, and it's just getting started.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Cheap AI doesn't exist
Muse is free to use with a limited number of AI tokens, and there are two paid tiers: $20/month (5 million weekly tokens) and $100/month (3 billion weekly tokens). Those prices align with what most AI companies charge for their monthly AI services right now, but the problem for Meta (and likely its rivals, too) is that these subscriptions won't come anywhere close to offsetting AI expenses.

As mentioned, Meta is spending $145 billion to build AI data centers this year, and some analysts think it could spend even more next year. Recouping those costs through subscriptions will be nearly impossible. That's especially when you consider that Muse is a consumer product, not an enterprise product like many other AI agents. Enterprise products can generate significant revenue because companies have larger budgets than consumers and are more willing to stick with the same service for longer.

Microsoft and Alphabet both recently grew cloud revenue rapidly, thanks mostly to selling cloud-based AI services to companies. Meta isn't a cloud company, and that's sort of the problem. Meta is investing similar amounts of money in AI data centers as its peers but doesn't have enterprise products to offset its high costs.

Meta recently launched Muse for Small Business, but it's more of a workflow automation tool (allowing Muse to connect to a Canva subscription) than the robust tools Anthropic and OpenAI offer. Making matters worse for Meta is that it's very likely that even its current subscription prices aren't high enough to match the amount of AI tokens users are spending.

For $100/month, Muse users (Musers?) receive 3 billion tokens per week. But the total amount of tokens a user gets often exceeds the value of what they pay for them. Earlier this year, a SemiAnalysis report found that a $200/month ChatGPT subscription actually gives a user $14,000 worth of AI tokens. For Claude, $200 essentially gets you $8,000 worth of tokens.

In short, AI companies are heavily discounting their products. A similar disparity is likely occurring with Muse's token costs versus its subscription price, which isn't ideal when it's spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI.

META Meta Platforms$741.30+$3.76 (+0.51%)

NASDAQ · As of 1:25 PM ET 10/15/26

The consumer-side competition will heat up, too
The other problem I think Meta will face with Muse is that, very soon, it probably won't be a unique product. While Meta beat many of its rivals to the punch in offering a consumer-first personal AI agent that can accomplish useful everyday tasks, it certainly won't be the last. Apple has already inched closer to this area with its newest version of Siri.

And while Siri can't yet book hotels or shop online for you, it likely could soon. If it does, Apple could eventually have the upper hand in this space because of its focus on consumer privacy.

Even with Muse's popularity, Meta consumers don't have much trust in the company's privacy practices. A recent Oppenheimer survey found that just 8% of respondents said they'd trust Meta with their passwords, compared with 30% for Alphabet and 23% for Apple (which took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots).

Even if Muse successfully fends off the competition for a while, it doesn't change the fact that Meta is burning through piles of cash. And with the company still generating the vast majority of its $200 billion in annual revenue from advertising, Muse's subscriptions aren't likely to make much of a dent in Meta's sales either.

The partnership gives developers a new way to run sophisticated AI without renting computing power from the cloud.

Meta is pouring over $130 billion into AI while free cash flow craters and Reality Labs keeps bleeding billions. Whether that spending is a catastrophic overhang or the setup for a massive payoff depends on one number that most investors…

The 24/7 Wall St. price target for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) is $905.42 over the next 12 months. That stands well above today’s price.

Metric
Value

Current Price
$742.82

Price Target from 24/7 Wall St.
$905.42

Upside
21.9%

Recommendation
BUY

Confidence Level
90%

Our model has high confidence in this call. Meta is spending heavily on AI, with 2026 capex forecast to $130-$145B, and the market spent most of the summer punishing that.

Our view is that the spending already shows up in ad pricing, engagement, and new revenue lines. On that basis, the stock looks undervalued for what it is building.

Meta Rebounds Sharply After Its Q2 Earnings Miss
Shares are up 3.36% today, 2.02% over the past week, 13.72% over the past month, and 12.81% year to date. Meta trades 4.7% below its 52-week peak of $779.82 and 43% over its low of $519.37. CNBC also reported that President Trump bought Meta shares in August (CNBC).

In Q2, revenue rose 27.96% to $60.80B, beating the $60.29B consensus. Diluted EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.22 estimate. Higher expenses caused the miss.

Bulls See a Path to $1,040
AI is already lifting the ad business. Ad impressions rose 14% and average price per ad went up 12%. Advantage+ has passed a $75 billion annual revenue run rate. Meanwhile, more than 1 million businesses use Meta’s business agents every week.

On the earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta receives computing power offers “at a meaningful premium over what we paid”. If enterprise AI scales, our bull case of $1,040.03 means 40% upside.

Free Cash Flow Is Where the Pressure Shows
Q2 free cash flow fell to $784M from $8.55B a year earlier. Operating margin contracted to 31% from 43%. Reality Labs lost $19.2B in 2025, and youth-related lawsuits are heading to trial.

Part of the margin decline came from one-time items: $2.40B in legal charges and $1.18B in severance. Without those, operating income would have grown 9%. Even the bear case of $774.02 stands 4.2% above today’s price.

How Meta Compares to Alphabet and Pinterest

Company
Forward P/E
Quarterly Revenue Growth YoY

Meta
22x
28%

Alphabet
23x
24.2%

Pinterest
8x
18.2%

The closest match is Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), since it also funds AI infrastructure with advertising profits. It trades at a slightly higher forward multiple than Meta while growing revenue more slowly. That makes Meta’s discount hard to justify.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) gives a pure social-ad comparison. It trades at a much lower multiple, but its TTM operating margin is -3.46%, compared with Meta’s 34.8%. Against these peers, the 24/7 Wall St. price target looks reasonable, and arguably conservative.

Ad Pricing Power Supports Our Buy Rating
The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $905.42 carries a buy rating with 90% confidence. What tips the scale for me is ad pricing power: Meta keeps raising prices even while spending heavily.

The thesis holds if ad growth stays above 20% and the 2026 operating income guidance holds. The thesis weakens if free cash flow keeps contracting into 2027 without new enterprise revenue to offset it. For now, I think the AI return is already visible in the numbers.

This is the level our model projects for Meta if current trends continue.

Year
Price Target from 24/7 Wall St.

2026
$762.53

2027
$906.73

2028
$1,062.29

2029
$1,195.72

2030
$1,292.50

The projections rest on Meta continuing to execute on its current strategy. Enterprise AI monetization could push results above this path, while litigation losses or a sustained capex overhang could pull them below it.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Apple (AAPL +0.49%) launched a new version of Siri just last month, and it's undoubtedly the best version of the personal agent the company has ever released. Siri can now interact like other artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots by answering more in-depth questions; it also has on-screen awareness and more personal context than before because it can search through photos, emails, and texts.

But as helpful as all of this is, just a few weeks after its launch, Siri still feels dated.

With the recent launch of Meta Platforms' (META -3.27%) popular Muse app, which can autonomously complete personal tasks such as booking a flight and shopping online, it's clear that Siri still doesn't measure up.

That's a problem for Apple -- and I think it's one the company can solve. But there's a lot at stake if it keeps getting agentic AI wrong.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Apple's new threat
Most of my personal devices are Apple products, and I've been less than enthused by Siri for years now. The latest update was a big leap forward, but it essentially caught Apple up with where OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude were several years ago.

And now there's another threat.

Meta's Muse easily helps users with all sorts of tasks, including booking flights, reserving tables at restaurants, ordering groceries, buying clothes online, and more. It's the type of personal AI assistant that many tech companies have talked about for years, finally built into a simple app.

Muse has reached the top of Apple's App Store and has more than 3 million weekly users. That rapid adoption is a good sign that consumers want these capabilities, and there are some important reasons Apple should take notice.

Apple's hardware sales could be at risk
The bulk of Apple's revenue -- around 50% -- comes from selling its high-margin iPhones. The margins have taken a bit of a hit recently because of soaring memory prices, but management still estimates gross margins will be around 47%.

For decades, Apple has paired high-end devices with top-notch software that consumers mostly love. But Muse and other agents could chip away at this sentiment by offering superior capabilities.

Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan is concerned about this threat. Mohan said in an investor note last month that Muse could cut into Apple's services revenue by completing online transactions outside of Apple's ecosystem.

What's more, if more consumers view Muse as essential to their daily routines, they could shift their smartphone buying habits away from expensive iPhones and toward cheaper Android devices that run Muse just as well.

It's still too early to tell whether that will happen, but as users grow more accustomed to highly capable AI agents, paying premium prices for Apple hardware without robust AI built in may not make sense for many smartphone buyers.

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The biggest hurdle for Muse, and Apple's biggest advantage, is that most users don't trust Meta with their data. A recent Oppenheimer survey found that just 8% of respondents said they trust Meta with their passwords. In contrast, 28% of respondents said they would trust Apple with their passwords.

Trust isn't the only factor in winning the agentic AI space, but it's a start. The next step is, of course, for Apple to design Siri to work better within third-party apps to complete autonomous tasks. The real problem for Apple isn't the technical know-how; it may be whether Apple's management believes the company needs to make such a leap with Siri to stay relevant.

The latest version of Siri is a step in the right direction, but as an Apple shareholder myself, I wonder how long it will be before Siri catches up to other AI agents. If Apple is in the same place it is now a year from now, after the next iteration of Siri has presumably debuted, Apple's AI software miss could turn into a hardware sales problem.

Meta Platforms (META -3.27%) will report its third-quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Shares are at about $743 as I write -- roughly 6% under the stock's record close of $790, set in August 2025.

The stock has also gained about 30% since Aug. 31.

The earnings figure in the report might look stunning. Analysts expect earnings per share of $6.77, according to FactSet, compared to just $1.05 a year ago.

But last year's number was distorted by a one-time charge. I'd buy the stock before the report anyway, though not because of a sixfold jump in earnings. What counts more is what the update says about Meta's ad business and its massive artificial intelligence (AI) budget.

Image source: Getty Images.

A distorted comparisonMeta's third-quarter 2025 earnings included a one-time, non-cash income tax charge of $15.9 billion linked to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Without it, Meta said its diluted earnings per share would've been $7.25 rather than $1.05.

Against that $7.25, FactSet's $6.77 estimate is around 7% lower. The gap probably reflects higher spending. Management also expects a tax rate of 15% to 17% for the rest of 2026, over the 14% Meta would've paid in the year-ago quarter without the charge.

Put another way, investors shouldn't read much into a big jump in earnings per share on Oct. 21.

Ad growth needs to hold upShowing the strength of demand for Meta's ads, advertising revenue climbed 33% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. In the second quarter, ad revenue rose 27% to $59.4 billion. And management's guidance points to further deceleration. Meta expects third-quarter revenue of $61 billion to $64 billion -- growth of around 19% to 25% from $51.2 billion a year ago.

What would I like to see? Revenue in the top half of that range would be a solid start. But what's behind the growth matters even more.

In the second quarter, ad impressions rose 14% year over year, and the average price per ad was up 12%. CFO Susan Li tied the higher prices partly to stronger ad performance, plus improving economic conditions and currency.

Meta also said its AI-driven upgrades to its ad-ranking system led to an 8% boost in ad clicks and a 16% lift in conversions on Facebook in the quarter. If the average price per ad keeps rising at a double-digit rate in the third quarter, it suggests advertisers are paying more for ads that work better for them.

Can ads keep paying for the AI build-out?The other half of the report is spending. Meta expects 2026 capital expenditures (including principal payments on finance leases) of $130 billion to $145 billion, up from $72.2 billion in 2025. Through June, it had spent $50.9 billion. Even the bottom of the range implies about $79 billion for the second half, or roughly $40 billion a quarter, up from $31.1 billion in the second quarter.

That spending is already hitting cash flow. Free cash flow dropped to just $784 million in the second quarter, versus $8.5 billion a year before. And long-term debt rose to $83.7 billion as of June 30, from $58.7 billion at year-end 2025.

Third-quarter free cash flow could slip below zero. A year ago, it was $10.6 billion.

Investors might also get a first look at 2027. A year ago, management used its third-quarter earnings call to say capital expenditure dollar growth would be "notably larger" in 2026 than in 2025. In July, Li held off on a 2027 number.

"Infrastructure planning remains highly dynamic and even this year, there are a range of outcomes embedded in our outlook," she said on the second-quarter earnings call.

Premium Feature

Moneyball Superscore

80/100

Today's Change

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I can live with a weak free cash flow quarter if ad revenue keeps growing at roughly 20% or higher. After all, Meta still expects its 2026 operating income to be above 2025's $83.3 billion. A far bigger 2027 spending plan paired with ad growth falling below that rate, though, might make me rethink the stock.

Of course, the report may push the stock down, especially after its climb since late August. But at around 22 times expected 2027 earnings, I think shares are reasonably priced for a company whose ad sales rose 27% last quarter. At that price, Meta doesn't need a blowout quarter -- just revenue growth in management's range and a spending plan the ad business can cover.

Overall, I'd consider buying shares ahead of the report. But, given the risks, probably gradually rather than all at once.

Meta is doing pretty well, and not only that, it has outperformed its own sector by more than 20% over the last two months or so.

It has also outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 17%, which is quite impressive, especially if we consider that the communication services sector has been lagging a bit, although not as much as some other sectors like industrials, materials, and financials. Of course, energy and technology are in a league of their own this year.

But overall, if the communication services sector also starts to pick up, then we can expect Meta, which is already performing very well, to extend even higher.

Meta vs sector and S&P 500 relative strength

In fact, looking at this stock from an Elliott Wave perspective, we can see that the price has broken out of the recent triangle, which looks like it could be completed. Price recovered towards $700, and we saw a very sharp and strong recovery. So after some pullback, which could already be playing out now, we could see even more gains. What I would be looking for is support around $692, the previous breakout point. If more aggressive selling occurs in the near term, then $712 is also an important level to watch, as it marks an unfilled gap from mid-September.

Meta daily Elliott Wave chart

So it’s very possible that we will see another push higher in the next few weeks, but who knows, maybe we will have to wait until the next earnings release, scheduled for Wednesday, October 28. Overall, this looks like a bullish, constructive pattern, and new highs could still be coming in wave five, closer to $850, maybe even $900, as long as the market trades above the $500 level.

Highlights:

Meta outperforming its sector by more than 20% and the S&P 500 by over 17% in the last two months Elliott Wave triangle appears completed, with a strong bullish breakout Watching support near $692 and the mid-September gap around $712 Next earnings release scheduled for October 28 Potential wave five targets around $850–900 Bullish outlook remains valid above $500 If you’d like to follow my Elliott Wave analysis on a daily basis, WaveTraders is currently running a special offer: full access for just 20€ for the first month. Learn more at wavetraders.com/elliott-wave-plans

Twitter:  @GregaHorvatFX

The author may have a position in the mentioned securities at the time of publication. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

Consumers and investors alike have warmed up to Meta Platforms (META), and @LikeFolio's data shows that it's not just the stock price reflecting that demand. Megan Brantley explains how Meta Ads are outperforming peers like Reddit (RDDT) and Snap, Inc. (SNAP) as Muse AI offers new monetization avenues for the Mag 7 giant.

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, XETRA:FB2A, SIX:FB) has strengthened its artificial intelligence credentials with two new models, prompting Bank of America to reiterate its 'buy' rating and $810 price target.

The bank said Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full demonstrate progress by Meta Superintelligence Labs, which was formed 16 months ago, and could improve confidence in the company’s ability to compete with leading AI developers.

Meta shares rose about 6% over the two days following the launch, outperforming a broadly flat S&P 500 index.

Benchmark results from Artificial Analysis, an AI model evaluation platform, placed Muse Wonder Full’s intelligence score at 56, broadly in line with leading models from rival developers that scored between 53 and 58.

Bank of America said the release represented a meaningful achievement and should support investor confidence in Meta’s recent AI initiatives.

The models build on Muse Spark, which was designed for lightweight tasks requiring rapid responses, with the new versions targeting more complex workloads such as software development and agentic workflows, where AI systems can carry out multi-step tasks.

Muse Wonder is available through Meta’s model application programming interface (API) and Muse Code, a coding service, at $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens, while Muse Wonder Full is restricted to Muse Code subscribers.

The standard Wonder model will also power Meta’s Muse personal AI agent, initially for subscribers.

Bank of America expects the more capable models to strengthen Meta’s potential to generate revenue from enterprise contracts, API access and cloud distribution partnerships.

The bank also sees scope for improvements in Muse’s usefulness and task-completion rates, potentially supporting user adoption and retention.

More capable AI models could improve content recommendations and advertising targeting, helping advertisers generate better returns on advertising spend and encouraging additional investment on Meta’s platforms.

The models could also reduce Meta’s reliance on external AI systems, lowering the cost of processing requests through third-party models.

Bank of America believes analysts’ forecasts currently include limited contributions from Meta’s emerging AI businesses, leaving room for upgrades if advertising, subscriptions and computing capacity leasing generate meaningful revenue.

The bank highlighted Meta’s planned computing capacity expansion, with more than 3 gigawatts targeted for 2026 and 6 gigawatts for 2027, as a potential source of upside to earnings estimates for 2027 and 2028.

Potential enterprise agreements represent the next important catalyst, although the bank warned that slower Muse adoption, competing AI agents from Google and concerns about rising capital expenditure in 2027 could weigh on sentiment.

Krilogy Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,194 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares during the quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Walker Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 608 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,014 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,759,000 after buying an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $788,000. Fagan Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the third quarter. Fagan Associates Inc. now owns 20,102 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $14,578,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,647 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,622,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, frontier AI models designed for complex, multi-step personal and professional tasks. The launch supports the view that Meta is catching up with OpenAI and Anthropic while creating potential subscription and advertising opportunities. Meta Platforms Introduces AI Tools to Fine-Tune Facebook Algorithms Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed strong early retention for Meta’s standalone Muse assistant, helping ease concerns about slowing downloads and reinforcing expectations that the company’s AI investments can improve engagement and monetization. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened, with Truist assigning a $1,000 price target and KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirming bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts cited Muse adoption and AI-driven advertising improvements as catalysts. Social Media Stocks Rally as Truist Sets $1,000 Meta Target Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Virtuix expanded, with Omni One orders reportedly tripling year over year after becoming available for Meta Quest. The development provides modest support for demand across Meta’s virtual-reality ecosystem. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership Neutral Sentiment: Facebook is giving users more control over feed-ranking algorithms. The move may improve user trust and engagement, although greater personalization controls could affect content distribution and ad performance. Facebook Gives Users More Algorithm Control Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Meta’s premium valuation and substantial AI spending, with planned capital expenditures reportedly reaching $130 billion to $145 billion. Third-quarter results, scheduled for October 21, will be important for validating AI monetization and revenue guidance. Meta Q3 Preview Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research analysts have commented on the stock. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $796.51. Get Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.6% NASDAQ META opened at $762.50 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $647.53 and a 200 day moving average of $622.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms (Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

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Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 13.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,014 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.7% of Affinity Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 723.1% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,957,946,000 after buying an additional 7,732,446 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $2,948,486,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms In related news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week: Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, frontier AI models designed for complex, multi-step personal and professional tasks. The launch supports the view that Meta is catching up with OpenAI and Anthropic while creating potential subscription and advertising opportunities. Meta Platforms Introduces AI Tools to Fine-Tune Facebook Algorithms Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed strong early retention for Meta’s standalone Muse assistant, helping ease concerns about slowing downloads and reinforcing expectations that the company’s AI investments can improve engagement and monetization. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened, with Truist assigning a $1,000 price target and KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirming bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts cited Muse adoption and AI-driven advertising improvements as catalysts. Social Media Stocks Rally as Truist Sets $1,000 Meta Target Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Virtuix expanded, with Omni One orders reportedly tripling year over year after becoming available for Meta Quest. The development provides modest support for demand across Meta’s virtual-reality ecosystem. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership Neutral Sentiment: Facebook is giving users more control over feed-ranking algorithms. The move may improve user trust and engagement, although greater personalization controls could affect content distribution and ad performance. Facebook Gives Users More Algorithm Control Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Meta’s premium valuation and substantial AI spending, with planned capital expenditures reportedly reaching $130 billion to $145 billion. Third-quarter results, scheduled for October 21, will be important for validating AI monetization and revenue guidance. Meta Q3 Preview Analysts Set New Price Targets META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $865.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, President Capital raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $660.00 to $897.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $796.51.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Price Performance Meta Platforms stock opened at $762.50 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $647.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms Profile (Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

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SummaryMeta Platforms' Muse Wonder breakthrough reinforces its competitive positioning in frontier developments, supported by accelerating momentum across its expanding portfolio of personal AI offerings.The company's differentiated consumer-centric strategy synergizes with its expansive distribution ecosystem, strengthening long-term monetization prospects as mass market adoption scales.However, accelerating MSL investments and intensifying macroeconomic headwinds could pressure Meta's near-term FCF profile further, potentially triggering multiple compression following Q3 earnings.In the following analysis, I examine how Muse Wonder challenges the AI trade's biggest contradiction and why emerging developments could reshape Meta's long-term AI growth trajectory and ROI outlook. Derick Hudson/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) surged 2.63% following Monday’s (October 13) debut of its long-awaited Muse Wonder model, catapulting its AI capabilities to the frontier alongside leading offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. The stock

12.95K Followers

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Meta Platforms faced mixed analyst assessments on Wednesday as Goldman Sachs lowered its price target over concerns about rising operating expenses, while UBS and Guggenheim raised their targets on expectations of new artificial intelligence (AI) revenue opportunities. All three firms maintained Buy ratings on the stock.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Meta's new Muse Wonder model got 83.2% of tasks right on the DualEntry Accounting AI Benchmark, tying for second place among 57 AI models tested. Its predecessor, Muse Spark 1.1, scored 61.4% on the same tasks. Meta released Muse Wonder on October 12 and called it its most capable model to date. On accounting work, it now sits ahead of every OpenAI and Google model on the benchmark and level with Anthropic's Claude Fable 5. Only Grok 4.5 scored higher, at 84.2%. Key r.

Mark Zuckerberg and a billionaire most Americans have never heard of both gained billions on the same Monday, but only one of those fortunes actually moved that day.

On Monday, two fortunes rose by billions of dollars, and by similar amounts. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mark Zuckerberg made $8.37 billion, which brought his total to $263 billion. The same index showed Nikolay Storonsky made $9.30 billion, a 45% jump that the index described as his biggest one-day gain on record. That brought his total to $29.7 billion.

Zuckerberg is one of the best-known executives in the world. Most Americans have never heard of Storonsky. And only one of those two gains came from something that actually happened on Monday.

Zuckerberg’s Gain Came From a Product Launch Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) launched two new AI models, Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full. SQ Magazine reported both names. CNBC called the launch Meta’s latest test of whether users will pay. The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta called the model its most advanced yet and said it will make the Muse agent smarter. TechCrunch called Muse Wonder Meta’s first frontier model. Quartz and KSL News both described it as a challenge to OpenAI and Anthropic.

Market data, which is separate from the index, shows Meta closed Monday at $742.96, up 3.38% on the day. Meta shipped a product, the market raised its value of the company, and Zuckerberg’s stake rose with it.

Zuckerberg previewed this push on Meta’s July earnings call. He said the Muse models “will also dramatically expand the universe of content that people can discover across our platforms.” Meta’s investor relations site and its SEC filing have the full record.

Storonsky’s Gain Rests on a Valuation Public Since July Reuters once profiled Storonsky as the Lehman Brothers trader who became a fintech billionaire. He runs Revolut, which is a private company.

The index reportedly last updated on Monday after the market closed, and the jump reportedly reflects Revolut being valued at the $115 billion Reuters and Bloomberg reported. That valuation had already been public for months. On July 22, Reuters reported that Revolut had started a share sale at $115 billion, a figure Bloomberg and CoinDesk also reported. The same day, Bloomberg itself reported that Revolut confirmed the $115 billion figure Reuters and CoinDesk reported in a secondary share sale, which is a sale of existing shares rather than newly issued ones. CoinDesk, citing the Wall Street Journal, and Yahoo Finance reported the same number. Dealroom noted that it was a 53% rise in eight months. By July 24, internationalfinance.com was reporting that Revolut was now worth more than Barclays (NYSE:BCS) and Société Générale.

If this account is right, Monday’s jump reflects the index updating its estimate of what Storonsky was already worth.

Why Billionaire Rankings Mix Two Kinds of Numbers A public company founder’s wealth is linked to a share price that changes every second the market is open. A private company founder’s wealth is linked to whatever valuation the index picks to use, updated on the index’s own schedule. A funding round or secondary sale often triggers the update. Altrata’s Billionaire Census says private company valuations and venture funding play important roles in building billionaire fortunes.

That means a big one-day jump for a private company founder often reflects a change in how the index values them. For a public company founder, a move of the same size usually reflects a real change in the stock, and rankings show every entry as the same kind of number, so read each one knowing which kind it is.

Revolut’s Valuation Keeps Climbing Toward Bigger Targets FinTech Weekly reported that Revolut was valued at $75 billion after a secondary share sale in November of last year. In July, Reuters and Bloomberg reported a valuation of $115 billion. On August 4, the Financial Times reported that Storonsky was in talks about a new share award if Revolut reaches a $500 billion valuation. TradingView noted that those talks began before Revolut had reached its reported $200 billion IPO target. All of these are reported figures.

What We Couldn’t Verify We couldn’t independently verify any net worth figure in this article. Each one is a third-party estimate. We also couldn’t confirm what the index did on Monday or why. The explanation above matches the dates.

Index net worth figures are estimates for everyone on the list, including Zuckerberg. A value based on the stock market is more up to date than a private valuation, yet it remains an estimate. Outsiders can’t fully see things like pledged shares, trusts, debt or charitable commitments, and a stock rising on launch day shows what the market expected from the product. Mashable reported in September that Muse reportedly had a one-click security vulnerability.

November 4 Is the Date to Watch Meta’s next earnings report is scheduled for November 4, 2026. The company hasn’t confirmed that date yet. That report, more than one day’s stock move, is where investors will start to see whether Muse can make money.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Social media giant Meta Platforms (META +2.74%) has rallied 15% this year as it looks to be on track to hit a new all-time high. The business has done well despite adversity and legal challenges relating to the addictiveness of its platforms.

The company generates billions in revenue from advertisers, and the hope is that its new artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, Muse, could drive even more revenue growth. Despite a market cap of around $2 trillion, the stock doesn't look overpriced and may still have more upside. Could it hit $1,000 in the near future?

Image source: Getty Images.

Meta's stock doesn't look expensive, based on its expected growthAlthough Meta's stock is approaching $800, in terms of earnings, its valuation is not enormous. It's trading at 28 times its trailing earnings. But based on analyst projections of how profitable the business will be in the year ahead, it's at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 22.

A key metric growth investors look at is the PEG multiple, which takes into consideration the earnings multiple and the future earnings growth that analysts expect over the next five years. A PEG of less than 1.0 suggests the stock is a good buy when considering future growth. Meta is just under that cutoff right now.

However, analyst expectations can change over time. If Muse proves to be a big moneymaker for the business, the company's outlook may be more promising, leading to greater returns for shareholders.

Premium Feature

Moneyball Superscore

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Today's Change

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2.74

%) $

20.33

Current Price

$

763.29

Is Meta's stock worth buying today?Despite the optimism around the business, the consensus analyst price target for Meta's stock is around $796, suggesting it's unlikely to rise much higher. However, the most bullish forecast does project it will reach $1,000. Price targets are typically the levels analysts expect a stock to reach over the next 12 to 18 months.

Meta has a strong business, but I'm not convinced it's worth investing in at its current share price. Its Muse assistant may open up more growth opportunities, but there's also likely to be considerable competition in the space as more companies develop AI assistants. Whether consumers will truly need them and see value in paying for them is also debatable.

The social media stock may hit $800 within a few weeks or even days, but I don't think $1,000 is on the horizon just yet, maybe in the long run. I'd take a wait-and-see approach with the stock first to gauge how well Muse is doing before buying Meta's stock, as its future gains may hinge heavily on how successful its AI strategy proves to be.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is expanding its AI strategy beyond consumer products and advertising as it targets developers and enterprise customers with new models and business tools.

BNP Paribas analyst Nick Jones maintains a positive view on Meta with an $885 price forecast, implying 23% upside from the Oct. 9 price of $718.70.

Muse Wonder Broadens Meta’s AI PushMeta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, its latest AI models. The company said the models match or exceed the capabilities of current frontier models.

Muse Wonder is available through the Meta Model API and Muse Code, while Muse Wonder Full is available to Muse Code subscribers. Meta also plans to use Muse Wonder to power Meta Muse, initially for paid subscribers.

Jones said the launch strengthens Meta’s position in the competition among leading AI developers.

He said the models primarily target developers and enterprises, supporting Meta’s broader effort to expand into business customers following the creation of Meta Enterprise Platform.

Jones Sees Long-Term Monetization Beyond AdsJones said Meta’s rapid pace of product launches creates another path to monetize its AI investments outside its core advertising business.

BNP Paribas said the near- to medium-term revenue contribution from Muse Wonder and other recent products remains unclear.

However, Jones believes Meta can generate enough long-term revenue from these products to support its substantial AI spending.

The firm is now looking to Meta’s third-quarter earnings call for early adoption trends.

Jones also plans to monitor third-party data to determine whether the new models are increasing engagement and usage of Meta Muse.

BNP Paribas’ $885 price forecast leaves Jones constructive on Meta’s longer-term ability to convert AI investment into additional revenue, even though the timing and size of near-term contributions remain uncertain.

META Price Action: Meta Platforms shares were up 2.67% at $762.79 at the time of publication on Tuesday. The stock is approaching its 52-week high of $779.81, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo via Shutterstock

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Meta, the social media and technology group, has launched Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, two artificial intelligence models designed to power personal assistants and professional agents capable of handling complex, multi-step tasks.

The models combine long-term memory with sustained task execution, allowing them to retain relevant information from previous interactions, adapt to changing circumstances and continue working towards a goal when problems arise.

Meta said Muse Wonder was available through its Meta Model application programming interface (API) and Muse Code, its coding platform, while Muse Wonder Full was initially available to Muse Code subscribers.

The company plans to bring Muse Wonder to its Muse platform, initially for subscribers, where it will support more advanced interactions, content creation and processes requiring greater intelligence.

The launch marks the latest stage in Meta’s renewed artificial intelligence development programme, which the company said began with a ground-up overhaul of its AI operations 14 months ago.

Both models were trained at Meta’s Prometheus data centre and built on the company’s previous Muse Spark model, using advances in pre-training and reinforcement learning to improve performance on complex tasks.

Meta highlighted two capabilities it calls 'Active Memory' and 'Active Focus', which respectively retrieve relevant personal context and sustain progress through difficult tasks by testing alternative approaches and adapting to new information.

The models are designed for applications ranging from understanding legal documents and financial information to managing personal schedules and building software, with Meta citing benchmark results across professional agents, memory and coding.

Meta also highlighted performance on unfamiliar tasks, arguing that stronger underlying models allow improvements achieved during training to transfer more effectively to situations they have not specifically encountered.

The company said the models include safeguards against misuse, including protections against unauthorised code execution, cyber abuse and the mishandling of private information.

Meta added that a fuller report on the models’ safety evaluations would be published later.

The launch strengthens Meta’s push towards what it calls personal superintelligence, a vision of AI systems that can help people pursue individual and professional goals with greater autonomy.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,730 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DWR Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.1% during the third quarter. DWR Wealth Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Haven Capital Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Haven Capital Group Inc. now owns 3,523 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,555,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. now owns 4,732 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,432,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,754 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,624,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 42.3% during the third quarter. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week: Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, its first frontier AI models, which the company says are competitive with leading offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. The models are designed to improve Muse’s ability to handle workplace and multi-step tasks. Meta releases Muse Wonder AI models to challenge Anthropic and OpenAI Positive Sentiment: Independent app-intelligence data showed early Muse user-retention rates rivaling ChatGPT, strengthening the case that Meta’s AI investments could create a significant new consumer and subscription business. Meta is charging $20 or $100 per month for access to premium models. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today Positive Sentiment: Analysts broadly raised or reaffirmed bullish views following the AI launch, adding investor confidence in Meta’s long-term growth potential. Analysts update Meta stock price for the next 12 months Neutral Sentiment: Meta will release third-quarter 2026 results after the market closes on October 21. Investors will look for advertising growth, AI-related spending and management’s outlook. Meta to Announce Third Quarter 2026 Results Negative Sentiment: The AI push carries significant execution and financial risk. Zuckerberg said Meta considered spending as much as $200 billion before knowing whether its models would succeed, while the company is also building a massive data-center footprint. Meta was prepared to write an up to $200 billion AI check Negative Sentiment: Muse’s global download growth has slowed, making retention and willingness to pay important tests for monetization. Cantor Fitzgerald also reduced its price target from $860 to $840, despite maintaining an overweight rating. Meta Says New AI Model Is State-of-the-Art Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have commented on META shares. President Capital raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $791.47.

Read Our Latest Analysis on META

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.4% NASDAQ META opened at $742.96 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $644.04 and its 200 day moving average is $621.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms Profile (Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Salesforce Just Got a Rare Double Upgrade—What Changed? OpenAI’s Revenue Scare Could Be a Big Opportunity for Investors China Still Dominates Rare Earths—These 3 U.S. Companies Could Benefit 3 REITs That May Win in a Higher Interest Rate Environment Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).

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Meta Platforms stock is rallying again on Tuesday, after the tech giant's latest Muse Wonder AI model brought bullish views from Wall Street.

What happened Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) released Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full on October 12, 2026.

The launch gives developers a priced API and paid subscription path, but it does not yet prove customer demand or revenue.

Muse Wonder is available through the Meta Model API at $4 per million input tokens, $0.20 per million cached input tokens and $20 per million output tokens. Muse Wonder Full is included for Muse Code subscribers, while a consumer Muse product is due later. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) reports benchmark and reasoning gains for the models. Those claims are company-reported. The launch materials disclose no customers, usage volume, subscriber count or realized revenue, and the company says a full safety report is forthcoming.

Read more: Meta Platforms (META) stock analysis and investment case

Why it matters The important change is commercial packaging. An API list price and a paid subscriber route turn a research model into a product that investors can eventually measure.

The spending burden is already visible. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) reported $31.862 billion of second-quarter operating cash flow and $31.078 billion of capital expenditures, including finance-lease principal. Dividing the latter by the former gives 97.5%. In plain terms, nearly every dollar of operating cash flow was matched by capital spending before other cash uses.

That comparison is editorial, and the limitation matters: capital expenditures cover the company's broader AI and core infrastructure, not Muse Wonder alone. Free cash flow was $784 million in the quarter, while full-year capital-spending guidance stood at $130 billion to $145 billion.

The counterargument is financial capacity. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) grew second-quarter revenue 28% and ended June with $90.26 billion of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The company can fund model development while testing demand.

Still, a list price is not a margin. The fivefold gap between the $20 output-token price and the $4 input-token price says nothing about serving cost, token mix or customer retention. The launch modestly strengthens the AI optionality case without changing base-case earnings evidence.

Related: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) Has a Conditional $18 Billion Bill

What's next The next test is reported adoption: Meta Model API usage, Muse Code subscriptions, named customers or a measurable revenue contribution. Investors should also compare capital spending with operating cash flow and free cash flow in the next quarter.

For now, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) has shown a way to charge for Muse Wonder, not evidence that developers will buy it at scale. Adoption and cash returns are the observable tests.

More from OptimistFi META stock: the Meta Platforms thesis, its status and the next test to watch Can Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) Win Enterprise AI? Meta VR Glasses Put Reality Labs' Losses Back in Focus Is AI Spending Paying Off for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META)? Stock perps: Veranta adds 17 Korean listings, from Samsung to LG Energy Solution Stock research on every company OptimistFi covers Latest stock research and investment-case updates OptimistFi: evidence-first equity research Sources Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) Muse Wonder announcement — Published October 12, 2026. Model launch, developer availability, Muse Code subscription access and planned consumer availability. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) Muse Wonder research note — Model architecture, company-reported evaluations, availability and the forthcoming full safety report. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) Muse Wonder developer page — Model API list prices, context window and Muse Wonder Full subscription distribution. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) second-quarter 2026 results — Revenue growth, operating cash flow, capital expenditures, free cash flow, liquidity and full-year capital-spending guidance. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q — Verified company and listing identity plus quarterly cash-flow and capital-spending figures. Photo: Meta Platforms Headquarters Menlo Park California by LPS.1 — File photo of the company headquarters sign in Menlo Park, California, photographed March 27, 2022. Photo license: Creative Commons CC0 1.0 — Creator credit: LPS.1. The photograph was released under CC0 1.0. Read the full OptimistFi thesis on Meta Platforms, Inc.: https://optimistfi.com/stocks/META

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Originally published on OptimistFi, evidence-first equity research. More at optimistfi.com.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares are in the spotlight, with earnings on deck, expenses and capital spending in focus, recent analyst activity and a technical setup showing a bullish trend with cooling momentum.

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Meta Platforms, parent company of Facebook, has released a long-awaited artificial intelligence model called Muse Wonder. This model is said to be competitive with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude.