TLDR
- Meta stock jumped about 7% Monday as enthusiasm grew around its new Muse personal AI agent.
- Muse reached No. 1 among free apps in Apple’s U.S. App Store, moving ahead of ChatGPT.
- Wells Fargo raised its Meta price target to $796 from $640 while maintaining an Overweight rating.
- Meta Connect begins Wednesday, with investors expecting more data and possible new Muse features.
- Amazon has blocked Muse from shopping on its platform, highlighting a key challenge for Meta’s agent-based AI strategy.
Meta Platforms (META) stock jumped about 7% Monday as investors responded to the rapid early adoption of its Muse personal AI agent. The stock traded around $710 during the session after closing Friday at $665.75.
Muse launched in the U.S. on Sept. 8 and has quickly become the most-downloaded free app in Apple’s U.S. App Store. Sensor Tower estimates the app reached more than 730,000 U.S. downloads in its first 10 days.
Unlike a traditional chatbot, Muse is designed to complete tasks on behalf of users. It can book travel, send emails, fill out forms, shop online and manage other multi-step jobs.
The early traction is helping change the conversation around Meta’s heavy AI spending. Meta expects capital expenditures of roughly $130 billion to $145 billion this year as it builds out its AI infrastructure.
Wells Fargo Raises Meta Target to $796
Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski raised the firm’s Meta price target to $796 from $640 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The analyst cited the early momentum around Muse and improving confidence in Meta’s AI product cycle.
Wells Fargo said U.S. Muse downloads reached a record 264,000 on Sept. 19. Daily active users had reached 448,000 a day earlier, according to Sensor Tower data cited by the firm.
The brokerage did not increase its revenue forecasts, however. It also reduced its 2026 operating income estimate to account for higher legal costs.
Muse could provide Meta with another revenue stream beyond advertising. The service includes paid subscription tiers alongside its free offering, giving the company a direct way to monetize consumer AI usage.
That is particularly important because Meta’s core Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp businesses already reach billions of people. The company could potentially distribute Muse across that existing user base without having to build a new audience from scratch.
Meta Connect Becomes the Next Catalyst
Investors are now looking toward Meta Connect, which begins Wednesday. Wells Fargo expects Meta to provide more data on Muse adoption and could introduce additional features during the event.
There are already signs that third-party access could become a challenge. Amazon has blocked Muse from making purchases on Amazon.com and said Meta’s agent was accessing the service without authorization.
Amazon said third-party agents should operate transparently and respect a platform’s decision over whether to participate. Meta has not publicly detailed how it plans to address Amazon’s objection.
That matters because Muse’s usefulness depends partly on its ability to interact with websites, shopping services, email accounts and other platforms. If major companies restrict access, some of Muse’s most useful agent functions could become harder to deliver.
User trust is another risk because a personal agent requires access to large amounts of private information. Meta says Muse runs inside a secure virtual machine, requires approval for sensitive actions and allows users to control which services it can access.
The stock has also already risen about 25% in September, raising expectations ahead of Connect. Strong early downloads do not yet show whether users will stay active, pay for subscriptions or generate enough revenue to justify Meta’s rapidly rising AI investment.
For Monday, though, the catalyst is clear. Muse’s early adoption and Wells Fargo’s $796 target have given investors fresh evidence that Meta’s AI spending could translate into a consumer product with broad appeal.
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