There’s been plenty of trouble lately for social media giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META). Just days ago, we found out about the Canadian government’s plans to investigate Meta over its news practices, and about fines from the Norwegian government as well. But news emerged recently about Meta’s augmented reality (AR) glasses, and how only a limited number will actually be produced. That was enough for shareholders to buy in further, but only send share prices fractionally upward.
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The new glasses in question will only see about 1,000 total units built, reports note. Those will be used for internal development as well as “public demonstration,” noted a report from The Information. Why so few units produced? Reports note that the issue here revolves around how the glasses are made. A key component, silicon carbide, is involved in their construction. Silicon carbide is a “military-grade” component that will be produced in an arrangement with Chinese, Taiwanese, and American factories, a mix that is in itself volatile.
Give Meta credit, though; it’s pushing the technological envelope in many more ways than that. In fact, a recent report noted that Meta just shut down a team that was working on a database of “over 600 million protein structures.” Instead, that team will now focus on artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Meta is having more trouble with its Threads platform. While more features for the beleaguered platform are promised to come, users are abandoning ship at such speeds that they may never see the new features before departing altogether.
Analysts, however, believe strongly in Meta’s overall future. Meta Platforms stock is considered a Strong Buy by analyst consensus, supported by 39 Buy ratings against just two Hold. Further, Meta Platforms stock, by virtue of its average price target of $377.70, comes with a 23.25% upside potential.
