Meta’s VR Unit Faces Probe by FTC and Three U.S. States — Report

According to a report published by Bloomberg, Meta Platform’s (NASDAQ: FB) virtual reality (VR) unit, Oculus, is being investigated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and three U.S. states, New York, Tennessee and North Carolina, on the grounds of potential anti-competitive practices, i.e., to assess if the company is taking undue advantage of its market share.

The regulators are in talks with developers outside the company who are involved in making apps for Meta’s VR. Notably, the enquirers are interested to know how Meta is able to sell Oculus VR headsets at prices much below its competitors.

FTC also opened a probe in December 2021 about the acquisition of Whine, the company behind the VR fitness app, Supernatural.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is currently in murky waters, as it was slapped with a $3.2 billion class-action suit in the United Kingdom for using its market position to exploit the personal data of 44 million users. 

Wall Street’s Take

Recently, Jefferies analyst Brent Thill maintained a Buy rating on Meta with a price target of $420 (26.5% upside potential from current levels).

Overall, the Wall Street is bullish on FB stock and has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 27 Buys and 5 Holds. Meta stock price prediction stands at $406.92 and implies upside potential of 22.6%.

Hedge Fund Trading Activity

TipRanks’ Hedge Fund Trading Activity tool shows that confidence in Meta is currently Very Negative, as the cumulative change in holdings across all 65 hedge funds that were active in the last quarter was a decrease of 1.7 million shares.

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