Meta Platforms Buys Name Rights for Meta

Technology behemoth Meta Platforms, Inc. (FB) the parent company of social media platform Facebook is said to be behind a $60 million deal to buy the trademark assets of the U.S. regional bank Meta Financial Group (CASH), according to Reuters.

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Shares of FB closed up 1.4% at $334.49 on December 13.

Meta – Name Rights

Spokespeople from both companies confirmed on Monday that Beige Key LLC owned by Meta Platforms, paid $60 million to the financial institution to buy the “Meta” name, along with Metabank, Meta Financial Group, and all Meta-related domain names and social media accounts.

Facebook Inc. changed the company name in October 2021 to Meta Platforms Inc. The word Meta is derived from metaverse. Meta covers digital spaces accessed via the internet through an array of devices. The name holds significant importance to the company and FB hopes to position the brand to its advantage shortly.

Meta Financial Group had disclosed that a Beige Key LLC had bought the Meta name rights for $60 million in cash, but did not mention who the owner was. The bank will use a part of the cash proceeds to implement a new name for the group, which is yet to be finalized.

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Analysts’ Take

With 29 Buys and 6 Holds, the FB stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating. The average Meta Platforms price target of $406.31 implies 21.5% upside potential to current levels. Shares have gained 22% over the past year.

Website Traffic

TipRanks’ Website Traffic tool, which uses data from SEMrush Holdings, the world’s biggest website usage monitoring service, offers insight into FB’s performance.

In November, Meta Platforms website traffic recorded a 8.83% year-over-year decline in monthly visits. Similarly, year-to-date website traffic growth decreased by 4.19% compared to the same period last year.