Social media giant Meta Platforms (META) could benefit from a new court ruling that might see TikTok banned. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of banning the short-form video platform in the country if parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell it by Jan. 19. This comes alongside concerns that China is using TikTok to collect information about U.S. users.
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That doesn’t mean ByteDance only has until Jan. 19 to complete its sale. While the latest court ruling wasn’t in its favor, the company still has the option to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Doing so could delay the sale mandate or ban until that court reaches a decision.
No matter the case, TikTok content creators aren’t happy about the potential ban. Many posted videos over the weekend warning their followers about it and suggesting they follow them on other platforms.
What This Means for META Stock
Meta Platforms operates Instagram, one of TikTok’s biggest rivals, which also allows for short-form videos and other types of posts. Creators often include Instagram as one of the additional platforms TikTok users should follow them on. Others include Alphabet’s (GOOGL) YouTube, Elon Musk’s X, and Meta Platform’s Threads.
META stock is already benefitting from a potential TikTok ban. When the court reached its decision on Friday, shares of META closed out normal trading hours up 2.44%. That builds on a year-to-date increase of 76.76% and a 12-month gain of 92.34%.
President-elect Donald Trump was a major force behind the TikTok ban during his first term in office. President Joe Biden continued this push alongside Congress. With Trump retaking office, Meta Platforms founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is opting to make amends with him. That includes meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month. With conservatives winning the House, Congress, and Presidency, this could be a smart move for META stock.
Is META Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Meta Platforms is Strong Buy based on 40 Buy, three Hold, and one Sell ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average price target of $662.62, a high forecast of $811, and a low of $530. This represents a potential 6.23% upside for META shares.
