Oculus’ Popularity as Holiday Gift Boosts Meta Stock

Meta Platforms stock surged to more than $346 per share on Monday (Dec. 27), its highest closing price in about six weeks, after Santa Claus and his helpers wrapped up a surprising number of Oculus virtual reality headsets for good little boys and girls — and their parents — this holiday season.

KeyBanc analysts pointed to the Oculus app’s top U.S. rank in Apple’s App Store on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and place among the top five most popular entertainment apps in 14 countries after it had consistently ranked in the top 10 among iOS entertainment apps in the U.S.

Oculus dropped to second place in the overall U.S. app store and was among the top five in 11 countries on Sunday (Dec. 26), according to KeyBanc data cited by Seeking Alpha Monday.

Oculus was “a popular gift this holiday season, and potentially benefited from console shortages,” wrote KeyBanc’s Justin Patterson in his analysis.

Meta shares dropped to less than $317 on Oct. 28, the day Facebook introduced its rebranding initiative, with CEO Mark Zuckerbrg highlighting the Oculus Quest headset as the driving force behind the company’s new direction that will open virtual reality to a whole new audience of all ages.

Related: Facebook’s Parent Meta Promises to Make Friends With Blockchain

Earlier this month, Meta incoming Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who will take the position next year, outlined the company’s vision for the future, including an emphasis on blockchain and cryptocurrency tech, which have become known as web3, saying Meta should lead the way.

Also read: Adidas Launches NFT Line, Joins Footwear Rivals’ Expansion Into Metaverse

Meanwhile, retailers appear to be big believers in Meta’s vision and the metaverse as a whole.

Adidas Originals announced on Dec. 16 that it was launching a nonfungible token (NFT) line titled “Into the Metaverse,” giving holders exclusive access to future merchandise, physical and digital product and services, rewards within the land plot in The Sandbox and more.

Adidas Originals also forged partnerships with Bored Ape Yacht Club, GMoney and PUNKS Comic to jump into the metaverse. On Dec. 13, Nike continued its expansion into the metaverse with its acquisition of NFT collectible and fashion startup RTFKT, which offers a hybrid NFT and physical shoe collectible inspired by the CryptoPunks NFT Collection.

In March, RTFKT’s CryptoPunks digital footwear collaboration with NFT artist FEWOCiOUS sold $3.1 million in metaverse shoes.