Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) shares surged 11.34% on Monday to close at $741.25 as investors reacted to strong early adoption of the company’s new Muse personal AI agent ahead of Meta Connect later this week.
The stock gained $75.50 during the session and traded between $679.60 and $753.00 on volume of about 48.72 million shares, according to Yahoo Finance. That compared with Friday’s $665.75 close.
The broader technology sector also advanced Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining 2.26% and the S&P 500 rising 1.49%. Reuters reported the Nasdaq closed at a record high amid strength across AI-linked stocks.
Muse Adoption Accelerates After U.S. Launch
Meta launched Muse in the U.S. on Sept. 8 as a personal AI agent designed to complete tasks including sending emails, booking travel, filling out forms, and making purchases with user approval.
The product is available through a standalone app and WhatsApp and runs on Meta’s Muse Spark models.
Wells Fargo, citing Sensor Tower data, said U.S. Muse downloads reached a record 264,000 on Sept. 19, marking the third consecutive day above 200,000 downloads. U.S. daily active users reached 448,000 on Sept. 18, 10 days after launch.
Meta said Muse is free for most use, with subscription plans for customers seeking greater access.
The rollout comes as Meta continues to increase spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Meta reported second-quarter revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, while capital expenditures reached $31.08 billion during the quarter.
The company expects full-year 2026 capital spending of $130 billion to $145 billion as it expands infrastructure supporting AI and its core businesses.
Wells Fargo Raises Meta Price Target to $796
Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski raised the firm’s Meta price target to $796 from $640 on Monday while maintaining an “Overweight” rating.
The brokerage kept its revenue estimates unchanged but increased the valuation multiple applied to its 2027 earnings forecast, citing progress in Meta’s AI products and signs of a new product cycle.
Wells Fargo valued the shares at 25 times its 2027 earnings-per-share estimate, up from 20 times previously.
Wells Fargo also cut its 2026 operating-income estimate by 12%, primarily reflecting Meta’s expected approximately $10 billion third-quarter legal charge tied to its agreement with state attorneys general, while trimming its 2027 and 2028 operating-income estimates by about 1%.
Separately, ARK Invest disclosed purchases totaling 51,477 Meta shares across its ARKK, ARKW and ARKF exchange-traded funds on Monday, worth about $34.3 million based on the reported trade data.
Meta Connect Scheduled for Sept. 23-24
Meta Connect is scheduled for Sept. 23-24.
Meta’s developer site confirms that CEO Mark Zuckerberg will participate in the keynote and that the event will cover developments in AI technologies, AI glasses, virtual reality, and Meta Horizon.
Wells Fargo expects the company to discuss early Muse usage and demonstrate additional functionality around Muse and its underlying models.
Muse Faces Growing Competition and Platform Constraints
Meanwhile, OpenAI is also developing additional personal AI assistant features, according to The Information, amid increasing competition in AI agents capable of carrying out multistep digital tasks.
Muse has also faced restrictions from some third-party platforms.
Amazon has blocked the agent from making purchases on its platform, while Shopify has moved toward integration with Muse through its commerce infrastructure, according to reports.
Separately, security researcher Patrick Wardle disclosed a local vulnerability in Muse’s macOS app that allows malware already running as the logged-in user to redirect Muse’s dictation traffic, potentially exposing prompts, injecting instructions, and obtaining authentication material associated with the agent. The reported flaw does not allow a remote attacker to compromise an otherwise clean Mac.
METAB Also Moves Higher
Meta’s tokenized bStock (METAB), a third-party tokenized security issued by BTech Holdings Limited that provides economic exposure to Meta shares, also moved sharply overnight.
METAB was trading at $743.92 at 3:27 a.m. ET, up 9.12% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Its 24-hour trading volume rose 52.92% to $4.62 million.
With about 5,000 METAB tokens in circulation, the tokenized stock had a market capitalization of approximately $3.98 million.
The issuer says bStocks are backed by corresponding underlying equities and can be traded around the clock. The products provide economic exposure rather than direct ownership of Meta shares.