Muse AI, Goldman Target Lift Meta in Premarket

Meta Platforms shares climbed 2.2% in premarket trading Monday after Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and a $725 price target, identifying the company’s Muse AI rollout and a recent legal settlement as near-term catalysts.

In a client note, Goldman Sachs said it now holds its positive view “with increased conviction” and sees a clearer path for stock catalysts following the settlement and Muse’s launch. The bank described a shift in consumer AI from passive chatbots to proactive, autonomous agents that can complete real-world tasks.

Muse is presented as a personal AI agent available via dedicated apps, the web and WhatsApp. Powered by the Muse Spark 1.3 model, the agent can browse the internet, complete forms, make purchases and help coordinate longer-term tasks. Meta released Muse with a tiered subscription structure that includes a free tier and paid plans up to $100 per month, marking a major paid consumer AI offering for the company.

Goldman expects Meta to focus on getting users to adopt Muse initially rather than pushing aggressive early monetization. The bank also sees room to expand revenue beyond subscriptions over time through commerce and advertising. It pointed to Meta’s large user base across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp as a distribution advantage for scaling a paid AI product.

The share uptick came as U.S. equity futures declined following calls from some AI executives for a pause in development, creating broader caution in tech markets. Investor activity showed notable interest in Meta from Ark Invest, which purchased about 43,000 Meta shares valued at roughly $28 million last week, the firm’s largest AI and technology purchase in that period.

Ark’s trading activity included additions to Cerebras Systems and Archer Aviation and sales of Alphabet and AMD holdings, reflecting portfolio adjustments around new AI products and corporate developments. Goldman also pointed to Meta’s Sept. 23 Connect event and potential new model releases as additional catalysts, and earlier described the company as moving from a “wall of worry” stock to one better able to productize and monetize its computing investments.