Meta Shares Pull Back, Despite Wave of Price Target Hikes

Meta Platforms shares (META) pulled back ahead of the weekend, even as a chorus of Wall Street analysts raised their price targets following the company’s Connect conference, where the debut of the Muse AI agent emerged as the clearest signal yet that Meta’s years of heavy AI investment are beginning to translate into tangible commercial opportunity.

The Meta stock price trades down 3.64% at $749.3, a pullback that points to profit-taking following a sharp near-term rally that carried the stock within $10 of its 52-week highs. The decline came despite four separate price target increases from major Wall Street firms, all of which maintained bullish ratings on the shares. The gap between the intraday performance and the upgraded targets, which ranged from $820 to $950, illustrates a market that is broadly constructive on Meta’s long-term trajectory but cautious about chasing further near-term gains after a significant run-up.

Driving The Upgrades

The central catalyst behind the renewed analyst enthusiasm is Muse, Meta’s newly launched AI agent, which the company unveiled at its annual Connect conference alongside a suite of hardware products including audio glasses and a compact wearable described as an AI charm device. Both hardware products are deeply integrated with the Muse platform, positioning them as dedicated access points within Meta’s expanding AI ecosystem.

Early adoption metrics have been striking. According to data cited by Canaccord Genuity, Muse surpassed 2.5 million downloads within its first two weeks of availability, a pace that Deutsche Bank described as tracking far ahead of recent consumer AI app launches.

From a financial standpoint, the revenue opportunity analysts are projecting is substantial, though the timeline for meaningful contribution extends several years out. TD Cowen, which raised its price target to $865 from $750 while maintaining a Buy rating, published the most detailed near-term financial ramp, estimating worldwide Muse AI revenue of $55 million in 2026, scaling to $1.8 billion in 2027 and reaching $27 billion by 2031. The firm also revised its broader revenue, EBITDA, and earnings estimates upward following the Connect announcements.

Piper Sandler, which lifted its target to $875 from $785 and reiterated an Overweight rating, went further in its long-term projections, outlining a scenario in which Muse generates $44 billion in annual revenue by 2030. The firm identified advertising, user subscriptions, and e-commerce take rates as the three primary monetization pillars. Importantly, Piper Sandler noted that Muse is not yet included in its base financial estimates, meaning the projected upside represents an incremental opportunity beyond the firm’s current model.

Canaccord raised its target to $950 from $930, the highest among the four firms, and highlighted Meta’s competitive positioning in the AI agent space. The firm pointed to Meta’s dominant gross margins, reported at 81.8%, as a structural advantage that allows the company to price Muse aggressively or even offer it at low cost, placing pricing pressure on standalone AI agent providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Canaccord also emphasized Muse’s expanding retail integrations, which span more than 2,000 applications including major names such as Walmart, Best Buy, and Sephora, creating a foundation for transaction-based revenue through commission and take-rate structures.

Deutsche Bank, which raised its target to $820 from $750 while keeping a Buy rating, focused on the competitive differentiation angle, arguing that Meta identified a meaningful gap in the current landscape of AI agentic offerings that makes Muse virtually unique in how it combines consumer context with task automation. A busy week for Meta holders, but one which continues to have the stock up 12.4% on the period despite today’s dip.