Muse DAU dropped and Meta insiders decided to sell

Meta launched Muse, an autonomous agent app, on September 8 and drew five million downloads in 22 days, but momentum cooled quickly: downloads averaged about 165,000 per day in early October (down from a ~215,000 peak), while net new daily users plunged from roughly 198,000 in mid-September to 74,000 by the week to October 6, a 62% decline. Daily actives hit about 2.73 million on October 6 but trailed Threads at the same age; Sensor Tower reports a lower 1.8 million daily users. Short-seller Hunterbrook disclosed a short and flagged privacy and content risks after its investigative work showed agents could be prompted to compile sensitive lists. Several major retailers and services, including Amazon, have blocked Muse from performing shopping tasks, narrowing its practical utility.

Insider activity at Meta over six months consisted of 172 transactions, all sales and no buys; Mark Zuckerberg sold $21.4 million of shares at about $778 on September 24 and other executives also sold, largely under pre-set 10b5-1 plans or for tax withholding. Corporate finances show heavy AI-related capex that drove free cash flow down to roughly $1.7 billion after capex, long-term debt near $83.7 billion, and no recent buybacks. Analysts remain bullish overall - Wells Fargo lifted a $1,000 target while consensus sits near $795 - but Q3 results and 2027 earnings expectations are the real tests of Muse’s engagement durability and the valuation case.