(Reuters) – Shares of Meta Platforms Inc rose marginally in premarket trading on Friday after social media giant Facebook rebranded itself to build the “metaverse”, a shared virtual environment.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday the new name reflects the company’s work invested in the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service, which will continue to be called Facebook.
The rebranding comes in the wake of criticisms from lawmakers to regulators over the company’s market power, algorithmic decisions and the policing of abuses on its service.
Analysts expect the metaverse platform to create a better experience for consumers using augmented and virtual reality technology – from developing video games to using smart-eye glasses.
J.P.Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth said while game creators are early adopters of this platform, there is potential for virtual fitness, workplace, education and others to join the bandwagon.
“Similar to its current strategy with FB Family, we believe the company plans to charge minimal fees over time to maximize the creator economy,” Anmuth added.
Meta Platforms rose 1% to $319.95 in premarket trading, after gaining as much as 4.3% on Thursday.
Shares of Meta Materials, an unrelated company, rose 4.6% to $4.77 in pre-market trading on Friday. The Canadian company is now worth about $1.33 billion, as of current share price.
(Reporting by Siddarth S in Bengaluru; writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
