LIVE MARKETS-Meta shares poised for record winning streak on Facebook's 21st birthday

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META SHARES POISED FOR RECORD WINNING STREAK ON FACEBOOK'S 21ST BIRTHDAY

Facebook.com was launched on this day in 2004. Eight years later it filed to raise $5 billion in an initial public offering. The same year Facebook bought photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion.

Now called Meta Platforms META.O, the social media behemoth is valued at $1.8 trillion. Its shares are set to rise for the 12th-straight session on Tuesday, which would be its longest stretch of gains on record.

An investment of $10,000 at the IPO held through Monday's close would now be worth roughly $184,200, but it didn't get there in a straight line, said Justin Walters, co-founder at Bespoke Investment Group in a note.

Facebook rebranded to "Meta Platforms" in 2021 reflecting its focus on an expensive experimental bet on a metaverse project which was shunned by investors.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg "reversed course on the metaverse to try and stop the bleeding, and he dubbed 2023 the 'year of efficiency' for the company. Around the same time, ChatGPT came along to start the AI Boom," Walters said.

The stock has rallied an eye-watering 700% from the lows of 2022.

(Medha Singh)

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