Oculus headset sales give Meta stock a holiday boost as app dominates rankings over Christmas
- Facebook owner Meta saw shares rise on Monday on the news that Oculus virtual reality headsets appear to have sold well this holiday season
- Oculus was among the top five entertainment apps in five countries on Christmas Eve, and it was the top app in the US on Christmas Day
Meta Platforms Inc shares rose on Monday, with the Facebook parent company leading an advance among big-cap technology and internet stocks amid signs of strong demand for its Oculus virtual reality headset during the holiday season.
The stock gained 3.3 per cent and closed at its highest level since November 15. US stocks were broadly higher on Monday, with tech names among the leaders, and Meta got a boost after KeyBanc Capital Markets wrote that Oculus was likely a popular gift over the holiday season. The firm cited the rankings of the Oculus app in Apple Inc’s app store, which “suggest a solid Christmas selling season”.
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In a December 26 note, analyst Justin Patterson wrote that Oculus was “a top 5 entertainment app in five countries and a top 10 overall app in the US” on Christmas Eve, and that the ranking “was even greater on Christmas Day”, as it was the No 1 overall app in the US.
Meta shares are up almost 13 per cent off a low hit earlier this month, although they nearly 10 per cent below a September peak. Among other megacap tech stocks, Apple rose 2.3 per cent to close at a record on Monday, while Microsoft Corp gained 2.3 per cent and Alphabet Inc rose 0.7 per cent. Nvidia climbed 4.4 per cent.
