Meta Falls 7% After Q3 Earnings Despite Analysts Calling Muse the "Purest" Consumer AI Winner

Meta Platforms (META) shares dropped 7% to $648.85 on Thursday, the day after the company reported solid third-quarter results that underscored its position as a leading consumer AI player with its Muse agent product. Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak, who rates the stock Overweight with an $820 target, said Muse makes Meta the "purest" consumer generative AI winner. Muse drew more than 10 million downloads in the U.S. and Canada in its first six weeks, with about 25% — 2.5 million users — using it daily. Over 25% of weekly active users shop through Muse, spending an average of more than $200, Nowak noted, citing potential to monetize Meta's network of roughly 500 million businesses. BofA's Justin Post, Buy rated with an $845 target, called Muse's growth "without an obvious ceiling." Needham analyst Laura Martin, however, rates Meta Hold with no target and advises waiting until the company completes a January issuance of non-voting Class C shares to A and B holders — effectively a 2-for-1 split — which she said could precede roughly $100 billion in equity raising by H1 2027 as Meta nears its debt limit. She also flagged mounting competition from rival AI agents.