Meta Platforms shares finished Friday at $777.59, up 4.5% for the session and near their 52-week high of $779.82, extending a 27% gain over three weeks after the company introduced its Muse AI assistant. Muse reached the top of Apple’s United States App Store and recorded roughly 642,000 daily active users during its first 12 days, exceeding ChatGPT’s early trajectory at a comparable stage. TD Cowen raised its price target to $865 from $750 and retained a Buy recommendation, while JPMorgan forecast $920 and Tigress Financial set a $995 outlook. Meta’s forward price-to-earnings multiple now stands at a 21% premium to the S&P 500, a valuation differential ranking in the top 1% of trading sessions over the past five years. The company plans to keep Muse free for most users and collect modest fees from transactions, with PayPal, Shopify, Walmart, Best Buy and Instacart participating, while Amazon has blocked access to its e-commerce platform. Meta spent $72 billion on data center infrastructure in 2023, and capital expenditures could approach $145 billion in 2024, weighing on free cash flow and contributing to the suspension of stock buybacks. Debt and lease obligations have also risen, with nearly $700 billion in outstanding supply and lease obligations beyond the current balance sheet. Analysts project 20% revenue growth in 2025 but only 9% earnings-per-share growth. Advertising still produces 98% of Meta’s revenue, although Muse interactions are designed to remain private from Meta, limiting potential advertising monetization. Some hardware initiatives, especially camera-enabled glasses, face privacy concerns that could restrict adoption. Institutional investors hold about 80% of Meta’s shares; NEOS Investment Management increased its stake 11.1% by buying 99,835 shares, bringing its holding above one million shares worth about $563 million. Chief Accounting Officer Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares on September 3, and Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares on September 21, with both trades executed under predetermined arrangements. Meta’s 50-day moving average is $613.05, compared with a 52-week low of $520.26. In its latest quarterly results, released July 29, Meta reported earnings per share of $6.18 against a $7.19 consensus estimate and revenue of $60.80 billion versus expectations of $60.22 billion. A quarterly dividend of $0.5250 per share is scheduled for September 28.