All Eyes on Meta Stock as Connect 2025 Approaches: Bank of America Issues Key Analysis

Meta's stock takes center stage ahead of its flagship Connect 2025 conference—with Bank of America weighing in on the tech giant's trajectory.

Wall Street's Watching

Analysts sharpen their focus as Meta prepares to unveil its next-generation metaverse and AI developments. The timing couldn't be more critical—investors seek clarity on monetization strategies amid massive Reality Labs investments.

Bank of America's Take

BofA maintains its position while subtly adjusting projections based on hardware adoption rates and advertising revenue trends. Their analysis suggests Meta's stock remains a bellwether for broader tech sentiment—whether that's insightful or just another case of analysts following the herd remains debatable.

The Connect Effect

Historical data shows Meta's events typically drive volatility—previous conferences triggered 15-20% price swings within trading weeks. This year's AR/VR focus could amplify movements as markets assess long-term viability versus short-term financial engineering.

Reality Check

While Zuckerberg visions the future, traders eye the present—can Meta balance moonshot ambitions with quarterly expectations? The stock's performance post-Connect will answer whether investors still buy the dream or just the numbers.

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At last year’s happening, Meta marked a pivot from VR toward mixed-reality glasses. This year, Bank of America’s Justin Post, an analyst ranked in 14th spot amongst the thousands of Street stock experts, thinks the spotlight is likely to be on advances in glasses hardware and broader integration of AI across both the glasses and Meta’s apps.

Post expects an official unveiling of the Hypernova smart glasses, already widely covered in the press, and anticipated to feature a visual display in one lens. Priced at about $800, they could serve as a bridge between early adopters and the mass market by delivering a daily wearable that also incorporates elements of a VR headset. While Post thinks this price point remains too steep for mass adoption, he believes Hypernova could “significantly advance the category with glass display functionality.” The company might also unveil a gesture-control wristband that allows hands-free use of its glasses and apps.

Reports also indicate Meta could roll out a new smart glasses developer toolkit to expand use cases beyond photography, music, and messaging. New APIs could bring third-party apps for navigation, live translation, shopping, fitness, and creative tools. Another expected highlight, says post, could come in the shape of an update on Meta’s next-gen holographic glasses, Orion, first previewed last year. “While a mass-market release could likely be years away,” said the 5-star analyst, “showcasing technical progress could provide a sense of Meta’s long-term hardware roadmap.”

Post thinks it’s likely the company will showcase how Meta AI is increasingly integrated into daily user experiences across its platforms, boosting content creation and personalization. Agentic AI could be a major focus, with demos showing assistants providing “task-oriented support.” Updates might feature new multimodal tools like voice and vision-based interactions, along with business-focused AI chatbots for customer service and commerce.

At last year’s conference, Meta rolled out new Meta AI features, the multimodal Llama 3.2 model, expanded business chatbots for customer support, and a lightweight Llama model for edge and mobile devices. However, given heavy spending on AI talent, ongoing restructuring, and recent departures, the analyst thinks investor confidence in Meta’s AI strategy “has waned a bit.”

With this in mind, the conference will give Meta an opportunity to boost confidence in the AI gameplan. “While the Connect Conference is geared toward hardware and Metaverse innovation, we think the event offers Meta a chance to remind investors about its tangible progress on AI product integration, and to articulate a clearer roadmap for how AI investments will translate into sustainable long-term growth,” Post explained.

All told, Post assigns Meta a Buy rating and a $900 price objective, suggesting ~20% upside from current levels. (To watch Post’s track record, click here)

Most of Post’s colleagues are thinking along similar lines; based on a mix of 41 Buys vs. 6 Holds, the stock claims a Strong Buy consensus rating. The forecast calls for 12-month returns of 16%, considering the average price target stands at $872.30. (See)

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