Meta Platforms has reportedly acquired a nearly 3% stake in EssilorLuxottica (ESLX)—the world's largest eyewear maker and parent company of Ray-Ban and Oakley—in a deal valued at $3.5 billion, according to Bloomberg. Sources indicate that Meta may increase its stake to 5% over time.

The move aligns with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's long-standing interest in taking a stake in ESLX, as the two companies already collaborate on Ray-Ban smart glasses equipped with built-in cameras and an AI assistant. The investment highlights Meta's growing ambitions in wearable technology and its efforts to control a larger portion of its hardware supply chain. 

"We would view the acquisition of a minority investment in ESLX by Meta as a meaningful development, showcasing ESLX's importance in the emerging wearables category - with revenue and cost of capital driven upside," Goldman analyst Louise Singlehurst wrote in a note earlier. 

Singlehurst said, "The newsflow of Meta's stake follows the announcement of the launch of Oakley Meta (June 20). We are Buy-rated, seeing a compelling defensive compounder with asymmetric product-led upside."

The analyst's 12-month price target for ESLX is 285 euros... 

In April, Singlehurst shared app download data from SensorTower showing "solid" traction for the Meta Ray-Ban app.

This is because Meta's smart glasses, without optics, are priced significantly lower than Apple's Vision Pro, which costs several thousand dollars. CEO Tim Cook severely miscalculated on price.

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Bernstein analysts said increasing ties between Meta and ESLX "represent another step in Meta's commitment to the smart-glasses category."