Meta Muse May Be Biggest AI Launch Since ChatGPT. It's Just One of Many Catalysts for Meta Stock. -- Barrons.com

By Kit Norton

Meta Platforms has seen continued customer momentum for its new consumer artificial-intelligence agent. Wall Street believes this could be just the beginning and that there is more upside for the shares of the Facebook parent over the next three months.

Meta stock declined 0.4% to $670.26 on Thursday and was on pace to snap a four-day winning streak. As of the closing bell on Wednesday, shares had risen 10% since Sept. 8, when the company launched Muse, Meta's personal AI agent.

Citi analyst Ronald Josey wrote Thursday that ahead of the company's "Meta Connect" event next week he was adding an "upside 90-day catalyst watch" on Meta stock. He also reiterated a Buy rating and $800 price target on the shares.

Key to this positive catalyst momentum is Muse.

Meta Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang posted on social-media platform X that Muse is "the biggest consumer AI launch since ChatGPT," adding that Meta's consumer AI agent is "getting more daily U.S. downloads than Threads, WhatsApp, and Facebook."

Citi's Josey said he has "been impressed with the experience" on Muse and that the downloads have been strong.

The firm, looking ahead, expects the Meta Connect event to include an update on the company's AI product strategy. Josey added that Meta will also soon launch its advanced AI model, codenamed "Watermelon."

"We believe META's product roadmap is becoming clearer suggesting multiple product catalysts ahead," Josey wrote.

Some catalysts, discounting Muse, have already arrived. The Facebook parent earlier this week formally rolled out its new subscription program called Meta One. The service offers higher AI usage along with professional tools.

Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett noted that Meta One could drive a multi-billion dollar revenue pace in the upcoming years

"This builds upon momentum Meta is realizing with its new Muse personal argentic capability, which continues to stand near the top of app store rankings since its Sept. 8 launch," Crockett wrote.

Meta's AI monetization engine is revving up. Next week's Meta Connect event could put it in gear.

Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com

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September 17, 2026 10:06 ET (14:06 GMT)