Facebook parent Meta rallies 3% as the app for its Oculus headset hits No. 1 in Apple's App Store

• Facebook parent Meta's Oculus VR app topped Apple's App Store for the first time on Christmas Day.
• The app's popularity signals the growing adoption of metaverse-related technologies, and Meta's influence on the sector.
• Shares of Meta traded up as much as 3.4% Monday.

Facebook parent company Meta's Oculus VR app marked a key milestone over the weekend, when it was the most popular download on Apple's App Store on Christmas.

The Oculus app beat out long-standing leaders like TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram for having the most downloads. Meta has not disclosed exactly how many VR headsets it has sold.

This marks the first time ever the Oculus app was No. 1 on Christmas and comes after the parent company's big bet on the metaverse. Meta Platforms has dominated metaverse conversations since it announced its name-change from Facebook.

Meta stock rose 3% to $345.06 at 12:22 p.m. ET on Monday, after climbing as high as $346.52 intraday.

KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Justin Patterson said in a Dec. 26 note that the app-download data indicate the Oculus was a popular holiday gift and may have benefited from a shortage of gaming consoles. He added that on Christmas Eve, the Oculus was among the top five entertainment apps in five countries and a top 10 overall app in the US.

Earlier this year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the metaverse "is going to be the successor to the mobile internet" expects the company to invest at least $10 billion to build the virtual realm.