(Bloomberg) — The buzz around the metaverse is taking the technology sector by storm.
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Chipmaker Nvidia Corp. and gaming company Roblox Corp. are just two of the stocks to have surged since Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg renamed his company to highlight a shift in focus to virtual reality.
In that brief three-week period, dozens of tech stocks have added hundreds of billions dollars in market capitalization. Between Nvidia, Roblox and the re-christened Meta Platforms Inc., that equates to a combined $230 billion. Nvidia has gained 18% in November and Roblox is up 39%.
Metaverse — digital worlds where users can socialize, play games and conduct business — is a multi-trillion dollar opportunity, according to Epic Games Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney. Still, mass market adoption of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies will only occur when Apple Inc. joins the party, Morgan Stanley analysts have said.
“The Metaverse is real — but is emerging,” said Neil Campling, an analyst at Mirabaud Securities. “Some of most likely beneficiaries of metaverse gaming should be the platform companies and those with scale,” Campling said, citing the likes of Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Microsoft Corp.
Morgan Stanley sees Meta Platforms and Roblox as among the winners in a space that will likely take years to become mainstream, but for which the buzz is already loud and clear: Mentions of metaverse during third-quarter earnings calls surged for companies on the Bloomberg World Large & Mid Cap Price Return Index, with the word popping up three times more than in the previous quarter.
The rush to the space is evident. The Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF, an exchanged traded fund focused on the theme, said it surpassed $500 million in assets under management, doubling in just two weeks. Holdings under the ETF include Nvidia, Roblox, Amazon.com Inc. and Qualcomm Inc.
It’s not just a tech phenomenon. There’s a lot of chatter about styling digital avatars in social gaming with famous luxury brands. Indeed, a digital version of Gucci’s Dionysus bag sold on Roblox’s platform for about $4,115, well above the price of the physical item.
Though the metaverse’s full market potential is years away, it’s already been a boon for some companies in the future ecosystem. Arista Networks Inc. and Seagate Technology Holdings Plc are among stocks that have soared this month amid optimism that the likes of Meta Platforms and Amazon will continue to spend on data center gear. Arista Networks has gained 28% in November and Seagate is up 16%.
“Whatever the future looks like, it’s going to require accelerated computing,” said Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager with Roosevelt Investment Group. “We keep thinking of new and better ways to utilize data and we wind up with tremendous growth in data transmission, which drives that cohort of companies whether or not the metaverse comes to reality.”
READ MORE: Nvidia’s Data Center Sales Expected to Be Standout: Preview
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(Adds Metaverse ETF’s inflows in paragraph 7, updates prices throughout)
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