5 Top Metaverse Stocks As the Digital World Ignites
If you haven't heard of the metaverse by now, you might be living under a rock. Here are the five top stocks with the metaverse on lock.
Dec. 6 2021, Published 2:07 p.m. ET
The chief executive of venture capital firm Epyllion, Matthew Ball, estimates that the metaverse will be worth $30 trillion by 2036. That's just one person's estimate, and the true potential for the metaverse hasn't been quantified yet. However, certain publicly traded companies are already hopping on the bandwagon, which means that their stocks could see a major boost as the metaverse takes off.
With everyone crying metaverse, it can be difficult to differentiate which stocks are really moving the needle. Here are the top five public companies tackling metaverse evolution.
1. Nvidia Corporation is taking on the metaverse.
The CEO of Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), Jensen Huang, believes wholeheartedly in the metaverse. He once said in an earnings call that it "is going to be a new economy that is larger than our current economy."
Nvidia is bringing the metaverse to life through its Omniverse platform. Omniverse is "a scalable, multi-GPU real-time reference development platform for 3D simulation and design collaboration, and based on Pixar's Universal Scene Description and NVIDIA RTX™ technology."
NVDA stock has soared more than 125 percent YTD, and analysts say that it's a strong buy from a long-term outlook.
2. Meta Platforms is the new parent of Facebook.
Naturally, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB) makes the list of the top metaverse stocks. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is all about the metaverse now and hopes that his innovations will spearhead immersive digital experiences.
Aside from its name change, Meta's biggest movements in the metaverse space come via virtual and augmented reality solutions.
FB stock is up a modest 17+ percent YTD and shares have fallen since September. Analysts expect a comeback in 2022 as tech stocks hopefully escape a volatile moment.
3. Unity Software wants to be the metaverse backbone.
Unity Software (NYSE:U) wants to be the backbone of the metaverse. The company has developed more than two-thirds of the top 1,000 mobile games as of last year. As the metaverse grows, Unity intends to keep its market share high.
Unity recently acquired Weta Digital, which offers digital visual effects tools—a move that should help Unity secure its position as a market leader in the metaverse era.
U stock has pretty much broken even this year thanks to a fourth-quarter bear run that wiped out its YTD gains. Wall Street analysts are still calling it a long-term buy.
4. Roblox is where the metaverse starts young.
Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) is already starting to bring the metaverse to the younger generations. The company's immersive platform is available on desktop, phone, and tablet, which means that it's super accessible and usable for kids and teens.
Nike plans to launch a metaverse store within the Roblox world—a start to the metaverse's true immersion.
RBLX stock is up more than 60 percent since its March IPO. Many companies don't fare so well in their first year of trading, so it's a big deal. Because of a recent bull run putting the stock's market value up high, analysts consider Roblox a moderate buy.
5. The Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (META) looks promising.
Unfortunately for Meta Platforms, an ETF has already secured the META ticker. The Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF, spearheaded by Ball of Epyllion Ventures, launched this summer and has since grown marginally.
Those who favor the metaverse-themed ETF say the best is yet to come. Its index is "the first index globally designed to track the performance of the metaverse." As of Dec. 6, the top holdings in the META ETF include Nvidia, Microsoft, Roblox, Meta Platforms, Unity, Tencent Holdings, Amazon, Apple, Qualcomm, and Autodesk.
This diverse set of holdings could be the right metaverse bet for investors who want to stray from individual stocks.