Why Meta Platforms Stock Keeps Going Up

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) stock exploded higher Friday, soaring more than 11% as its new "Muse" artificial intelligence agent began gaining momentum. Aside from a brief pause Tuesday as a few investors took profits off the table, the stock's gone nowhere but up since then, including a 3.1% gain through 11:35 a.m. this morning.

And Wall Street analysts are pretty sure they know why.

Muse makes Meta more valuable

Four analysts -- Tigress, Raymond James, JPMorgan, and Citizens -- raised price targets on Meta stock to as high as $995 per share today. That's after Cantor Fitzgerald and KeyBanc raised targets just yesterday.

Evercore ISI sees Muse as a more likely catalyst for Meta stock than the "Metaverse" ever was. "Just like GOOGL in 2025, what we are witnessing is a transition from a perceived 'AI Loser' to an 'AI Winner,'" says the analyst.

Raymond James notes that 300,000 users download Muse per day. And while it's going to be expensive for Meta to service those accounts, RJ estimates the cost will be no more than $12 billion per year -- while the revenue Muse brings in could approach $50 billion.

What this means for Meta stock

This is easy math. Assuming the analysts are right, a successful Muse rollout could add $38 billion to Meta's $228.2 billion annual revenue stream -- 22% growth from a single new product. It would be incredibly profitable growth, too, earning gross margins as high as 76%.

Granted, that's not quite as high as the 82% gross margin Meta was already earning, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. But it's not half bad for a brand-new product and could become even more profitable over time as Muse scales.

At a P/E ratio under 28, Meta stock might be a buy.

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.