Meta Platforms (META) Stock Surges after New AI Agent Debut

Shares in Meta Platforms (META) are up over 6% on Wednesday after Wall Street backed the firm’s new AI agent. The company debuted Muse, an AI assistant created to help people track tasks, long term goals, and assist in answering everyday questions as well as accomplishing tasks. Wall Street firms are backing the Facebook developer, with price forecasts for the stock climbing in recent days.

Muse “is designed around the way people already communicate, so talking to it works just like messaging another person, in the Muse app or directly in WhatsApp,” Meta said on Tuesday. In a video message, CEO Mark Zuckerberg touted the tool’s privacy and security capabilities. “We built a Secure Credential Store for your passwords and credit cards so Muse can’t read this information. Muse also checks directly with you before taking sensitive actions like making payments or sending messages,” Zuckerberg said.

Wall Street analysts are bullish on the standalone chatbot, and raised forecasts for META stock are driving shares higher Wednesday. “We believe Meta’s Muse consumer AI agent marks the beginning of a substantial product cycle for Meta that is not priced into shares,” Mizuho Securities analysts said in a client note this week. The firm has an Outperform rating and a $750 price target on the stock. Additionally, KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts hold an Overweight rating on the stock with a price target of $780. The analysts wrote that they “continue to believe the market underestimates Meta’s AI positioning and product cycle.”

Meta shares have recovered most of their declines from earlier this year. Year to date, the stock is down roughly 1%, but has rallied 9.8% in the last 30 days. The company has ramped up its efforts in AI, with CEO Zuckerberg providing a roadmap its the AI plan. “The notion that AI is so dangerous that the only safe path is an extreme concentration of power seems inherently problematic.”