Meta Stock Gets Bullish $900 Price Target as Reels Ads Expand, Threads Sees New Ad Options
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is attracting attention from analysts, with Citizens JMP reiterating a Market Outperform rating and a $900.00 price target. The bullish outlook is partly driven by the expansion of Reels ads and new advertising options for Threads.
Meta Expands Reels Ads to All Advertisers
Meta is opening Reels trending ads to all advertisers through the holiday season. Initial tests suggest these ads increase unaided awareness by 20%. This expansion is seen as a significant opportunity for advertisers to reach a wider audience through engaging, brand-safe video content.
According to Meta, "Reels trending ads use AI to curate the most trending and culturally relevant Reels inventory, delivering advertisers access to highly engaging, brand-safe video content that puts their brand where culture happens. Available lineups include all overall trending content or specific categories like animals & pets, beauty & fashion, cars, sports, with more to come next year."
The firm believes that Meta is poised for continued growth in its advertising business, leveraging the popularity of Reels.
New Ad Formats for Threads
Meta is also rolling out new ad options for Threads, including carousel ads and expanded image formats. You will have more options for your Threads promotions, including 4:5 rendering for single image and video ads.
Threads catalog ads will function as an extension of Meta's Advantage+ catalog promotions, offering another avenue to expand advertising campaigns.
Meta is enabling brands without a Threads account to extend their Instagram or Facebook campaigns to Threads by using their Facebook and IG posts as the basis for their Threads promotions. Three out of four Threads users now follow at least one business, showing the strong potential promotional interest in the app.
AI-Powered Ad Targeting and Value Rules
Meta is introducing value rules for awareness and engagement objectives, allowing advertisers to indicate their most valued audience segments, guiding Meta's AI-powered ad targeting. Value rules were previously only available for sales and app campaigns, but they’re now being expanded to awareness and engagement objectives.
“Early results show that campaigns using value rules drive 2x more high-value conversions compared to business-as-usual campaigns.”
Meta is also enhancing landing page view optimization rules to enable more flexibility in driving optimal response.
Analyst Perspective
Analysts note that Meta has multiple levers to drive performance for advertisers. While Threads has over 400 million monthly active users (MAUs), it remains an under-monetized asset, presenting further opportunities for growth.
However, some analysts believe that other AI stocks may offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk compared to META.
Comparison of Ad Platform Awareness Lift
| Platform | Unaided Awareness Lift |
|---|---|
| Reels Trending Ads | 20% |
| YouTube Select | 20% |
| TikTok Pulse | 14% |
