Rise of Retail Investors and ETF Popularity
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1h ago
0mins
Should l Buy META?
Source: Fool
- Impact of Retail Investors: According to 'The Retail Investor Report,' retail investors accounted for approximately 25% of total equity trading volume in 2021, doubling from a decade ago, indicating their growing influence in the market and prompting online brokers to adjust strategies to attract more clients.
- Robinhood's Market Strategy: Robinhood has successfully attracted a large number of retail investors by offering commission-free trading and fractional share purchases, with its '100 Most Popular' leaderboard showing that the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust are among the most favored investments, reflecting a preference for index funds among retail investors.
- Long-Term ETF Returns: Data from Crestmont Research indicates that all 107 rolling 20-year periods since the early 20th century have produced positive returns, suggesting that investors holding S&P 500 tracking ETFs have historically profited every time, thereby enhancing investor confidence in these products.
- Attraction of Bond ETFs: The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF has become the tenth most-held security on Robinhood, offering over 4% yield and a low expense ratio, reflecting retail investors' concerns about high stock valuations and their shift towards safer income investments to mitigate potential market volatility.
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Analyst Views on META
Wall Street analysts forecast META stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for META is 824.71 USD with a low forecast of 655.15 USD and a high forecast of 1117 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
44 Analyst Rating
37 Buy
6 Hold
1 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 668.990
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
Current: 668.990
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
About META
Meta Platforms, Inc. is building human connections, powered by artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. The Company's products enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets, augmented reality (AR), and wearables. It also helps people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enabling people to share their experiences, ideas, photos, videos, and other content with audiences ranging from their closest family members and friends to the public at large. The Company's segments include Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL). FoA segment includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads. RL segment includes its virtual, augmented, and mixed reality related consumer hardware, software and content. Its product offerings in VR include its Meta Quest devices, as well as software and content available through the Meta Horizon Store.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Meta Platforms Unveils Its Quickest Growth Forecast in Years—What's Next?
Strong Q4 Earnings Report: Meta Platforms delivered a robust Q4 2025 earnings report, exceeding sales estimates and showcasing significant improvements in its business outlook, with projected sales growth of 30% in Q1 2026.
Analyst Reactions: Wall Street analysts have responded positively, raising their price targets for Meta shares, with many noting the company's strong growth potential and solid performance in recent earnings releases.
Historical Context: Despite achieving high growth rates in 2021, Meta has not consistently reached 30% growth since Q4 2018, highlighting the challenges of maintaining such growth in a competitive market.
Market Sentiment: The overall market sentiment remains bullish on Meta, with analysts generally optimistic about the company's future performance, even as they keep a close eye on its spending and growth projections.
See More
Meta Tests Standalone Platform 'Vibes'
- Standalone App Testing: Meta is testing the standalone 'Vibes' platform, which allows users to create and share only AI-generated videos, aiming to enhance user experience and attract more content creators.
- User Growth Trend: Since its launch within the Meta AI app in September last year, 'Vibes' has gained strong early user engagement, with Meta noting that users are increasingly leaning into this format for creation and sharing.
- Immersive Experience: The new app provides a focused and immersive environment designed to enhance the experience of creating and discovering AI-generated videos, thereby driving user engagement and community interaction.
- Future Expansion Plans: Meta indicated plans to further expand the app based on community feedback, demonstrating the company's commitment to user needs and strategic positioning for future growth.
See More
Global AI Market Expected to Reach $4.8 Trillion by 2033
- Market Size Forecast: According to a recent report by UNCTAD, the global artificial intelligence market is expected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2033, and with hundreds of billions currently invested, the market could be even larger, providing substantial growth potential for investors.
- ETF Investment Opportunities: AI stocks had a strong performance in 2025, and despite some recent declines, the industry still has significant growth ahead, allowing investors to gain exposure through various AI exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that enhance portfolio diversification.
- Diverse Investment Options: For instance, the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF focuses more on the industrial sector, offering less exposure to the
See More
Rise of Retail Investors and ETF Popularity
- Impact of Retail Investors: According to 'The Retail Investor Report,' retail investors accounted for approximately 25% of total equity trading volume in 2021, doubling from a decade ago, indicating their growing influence in the market and prompting online brokers to adjust strategies to attract more clients.
- Robinhood's Market Strategy: Robinhood has successfully attracted a large number of retail investors by offering commission-free trading and fractional share purchases, with its '100 Most Popular' leaderboard showing that the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust are among the most favored investments, reflecting a preference for index funds among retail investors.
- Long-Term ETF Returns: Data from Crestmont Research indicates that all 107 rolling 20-year periods since the early 20th century have produced positive returns, suggesting that investors holding S&P 500 tracking ETFs have historically profited every time, thereby enhancing investor confidence in these products.
- Attraction of Bond ETFs: The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF has become the tenth most-held security on Robinhood, offering over 4% yield and a low expense ratio, reflecting retail investors' concerns about high stock valuations and their shift towards safer income investments to mitigate potential market volatility.
See More
US Stocks Plunge as Tech Sector Leads Decline
- Tech Sector Decline: Qualcomm's (QCOM) forecast of weaker-than-expected Q2 revenue led to an over 8% drop in its stock, triggering a sell-off across the tech sector, with the Nasdaq 100 index hitting a 2.5-month low, indicating waning investor confidence in technology stocks.
- Weak Labor Market Signals: Challenger's report revealed a staggering 117.8% year-over-year increase in job cuts for January, totaling 108,435, the highest for January since 2009, while initial jobless claims rose by 22,000 to 231,000, highlighting vulnerabilities in the US labor market that could hinder economic recovery.
- Bitcoin Plunge: Bitcoin (^BTCUSD) plummeted over 12% to a 1.25-year low, reflecting deepening negative momentum in the cryptocurrency market, with approximately $2 billion flowing out of Bitcoin ETFs in the past month, signaling a decline in investor confidence.
- Earnings Season Impact: Despite 150 S&P 500 companies set to report earnings this week, market focus on economic data intensifies, with S&P 500 earnings expected to grow by 8.4% in Q4, yet overall market sentiment remains suppressed by recent economic weakness.
See More
Amazon's Capital Expenditure Forecast Surges
- Capex Surge: Amazon forecasts its capital expenditures to exceed $200 billion this year, marking over a 50% increase from last year, yet this announcement led to an over 11% drop in its stock price during after-hours trading despite strong results.
- Industry-Wide Spending: The five largest U.S. tech companies are projected to spend over $630 billion on data centers, AI development, and other capacity-enhancing expenditures, a figure that surpasses the GDP of countries like Singapore or Israel, reflecting strong confidence in future growth but also raising market concerns.
- Market Reaction: The Nasdaq 100 index has already declined by 3.9% this week and is on track for its worst performance since April last year, as investors express doubts about whether high spending will yield future returns, leading to a broad sell-off in tech stocks.
- Analyst Perspectives: Despite the bearish market sentiment, Wall Street analysts overwhelmingly recommend buying into Big Tech stocks, indicating confidence in the sector's long-term prospects, particularly for Amazon and Alphabet, which retail sentiment considers extremely bullish.
See More
Meta Platforms Unveils Its Quickest Growth Forecast in Years—What's Next?
Strong Q4 Earnings Report: Meta Platforms delivered a robust Q4 2025 earnings report, exceeding sales estimates and showcasing significant improvements in its business outlook, with projected sales growth of 30% in Q1 2026.
Analyst Reactions: Wall Street analysts have responded positively, raising their price targets for Meta shares, with many noting the company's strong growth potential and solid performance in recent earnings releases.
Historical Context: Despite achieving high growth rates in 2021, Meta has not consistently reached 30% growth since Q4 2018, highlighting the challenges of maintaining such growth in a competitive market.
Market Sentiment: The overall market sentiment remains bullish on Meta, with analysts generally optimistic about the company's future performance, even as they keep a close eye on its spending and growth projections.
See More
Meta Tests Standalone Platform 'Vibes'
- Standalone App Testing: Meta is testing the standalone 'Vibes' platform, which allows users to create and share only AI-generated videos, aiming to enhance user experience and attract more content creators.
- User Growth Trend: Since its launch within the Meta AI app in September last year, 'Vibes' has gained strong early user engagement, with Meta noting that users are increasingly leaning into this format for creation and sharing.
- Immersive Experience: The new app provides a focused and immersive environment designed to enhance the experience of creating and discovering AI-generated videos, thereby driving user engagement and community interaction.
- Future Expansion Plans: Meta indicated plans to further expand the app based on community feedback, demonstrating the company's commitment to user needs and strategic positioning for future growth.
See More
Global AI Market Expected to Reach $4.8 Trillion by 2033
- Market Size Forecast: According to a recent report by UNCTAD, the global artificial intelligence market is expected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2033, and with hundreds of billions currently invested, the market could be even larger, providing substantial growth potential for investors.
- ETF Investment Opportunities: AI stocks had a strong performance in 2025, and despite some recent declines, the industry still has significant growth ahead, allowing investors to gain exposure through various AI exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that enhance portfolio diversification.
- Diverse Investment Options: For instance, the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF focuses more on the industrial sector, offering less exposure to the
See More
Rise of Retail Investors and ETF Popularity
- Impact of Retail Investors: According to 'The Retail Investor Report,' retail investors accounted for approximately 25% of total equity trading volume in 2021, doubling from a decade ago, indicating their growing influence in the market and prompting online brokers to adjust strategies to attract more clients.
- Robinhood's Market Strategy: Robinhood has successfully attracted a large number of retail investors by offering commission-free trading and fractional share purchases, with its '100 Most Popular' leaderboard showing that the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust are among the most favored investments, reflecting a preference for index funds among retail investors.
- Long-Term ETF Returns: Data from Crestmont Research indicates that all 107 rolling 20-year periods since the early 20th century have produced positive returns, suggesting that investors holding S&P 500 tracking ETFs have historically profited every time, thereby enhancing investor confidence in these products.
- Attraction of Bond ETFs: The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF has become the tenth most-held security on Robinhood, offering over 4% yield and a low expense ratio, reflecting retail investors' concerns about high stock valuations and their shift towards safer income investments to mitigate potential market volatility.
See More
US Stocks Plunge as Tech Sector Leads Decline
- Tech Sector Decline: Qualcomm's (QCOM) forecast of weaker-than-expected Q2 revenue led to an over 8% drop in its stock, triggering a sell-off across the tech sector, with the Nasdaq 100 index hitting a 2.5-month low, indicating waning investor confidence in technology stocks.
- Weak Labor Market Signals: Challenger's report revealed a staggering 117.8% year-over-year increase in job cuts for January, totaling 108,435, the highest for January since 2009, while initial jobless claims rose by 22,000 to 231,000, highlighting vulnerabilities in the US labor market that could hinder economic recovery.
- Bitcoin Plunge: Bitcoin (^BTCUSD) plummeted over 12% to a 1.25-year low, reflecting deepening negative momentum in the cryptocurrency market, with approximately $2 billion flowing out of Bitcoin ETFs in the past month, signaling a decline in investor confidence.
- Earnings Season Impact: Despite 150 S&P 500 companies set to report earnings this week, market focus on economic data intensifies, with S&P 500 earnings expected to grow by 8.4% in Q4, yet overall market sentiment remains suppressed by recent economic weakness.
See More
Amazon's Capital Expenditure Forecast Surges
- Capex Surge: Amazon forecasts its capital expenditures to exceed $200 billion this year, marking over a 50% increase from last year, yet this announcement led to an over 11% drop in its stock price during after-hours trading despite strong results.
- Industry-Wide Spending: The five largest U.S. tech companies are projected to spend over $630 billion on data centers, AI development, and other capacity-enhancing expenditures, a figure that surpasses the GDP of countries like Singapore or Israel, reflecting strong confidence in future growth but also raising market concerns.
- Market Reaction: The Nasdaq 100 index has already declined by 3.9% this week and is on track for its worst performance since April last year, as investors express doubts about whether high spending will yield future returns, leading to a broad sell-off in tech stocks.
- Analyst Perspectives: Despite the bearish market sentiment, Wall Street analysts overwhelmingly recommend buying into Big Tech stocks, indicating confidence in the sector's long-term prospects, particularly for Amazon and Alphabet, which retail sentiment considers extremely bullish.
See More
