JPMorgan boosted its price target for Meta Platforms (META) to $920 from $820 on Thursday while maintaining an overweight rating, citing rapid initial adoption of Meta's new Muse AI agent. The upgraded target implies an 18% upside from Meta's Thursday closing price of $777.59, where shares finished 4.5% higher following announcements at Meta's Connect conference.
Key Takeaways:
- JPMorgan raised Meta's stock price target to $920, maintaining an overweight rating.
- Meta shares gained 4.5% to close at $777.59 on Thursday, topping a 30% rally in September.
- Muse integrated with over 2,000 applications in its first two weeks, including Walmart and Best Buy.
- Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski raised Meta's target to $796 from $640.
Wall Street Rallies Behind Meta's Muse AI Agent
JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth highlighted that Meta's Muse personal agent, launched on September 8 and built on the Muse Spark multimodal model, connected with more than 2,000 applications within two weeks. The application features key integrations with major retailers including Walmart, Best Buy, Sephora, and Wayfair. Anmuth noted that Meta plans to monetize engagement through a take-rate or commission model as interactions shift toward agent-to-agent processes.
Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski previously raised his target on Meta to $796 from $640 due to early demand after Muse temporarily reached the top of Apple's free US App Store chart. Later this year, Meta intends to roll out Muse Confidential VM to encrypt user data with private keys held exclusively by users. Meta also revealed Muse Charm, a compact hardware device designed to connect users to Muse, expected to ship during the holiday season.
Meta Stock Reaches Best Monthly Performance Since 2013
Meta shares surged over 30% across September, positioning the equity for its strongest monthly return since July 2013. The rally accelerated on September 21, when the stock surged 11% to close at $741.25—marking its largest single-day gain since April 2025. According to LSEG data, 57 out of 63 analysts covering Meta rate the stock as a buy or strong buy, reflecting broad optimism across Wall Street as institutional capital weighs traditional assets against digital assets and family office allocations.
Why It Matters
Meta's push into autonomous consumer AI agents represents a major shift from traditional search and browsing models toward direct transaction execution. If Muse successfully monetizes app-to-app interactions via commission models, Meta could establish a lucrative new revenue stream beyond digital advertising. Furthermore, the introduction of encrypted Confidential VMs shows tech giants adopting privacy architectures similar to web3, setting a new standard for user data ownership in AI infrastructure.
