SAP (NYSE:SAP) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• SAP shares gapped up after BMO Capital Markets raised its price target from $175 to $177 and reiterated an outperform rating, helping push the stock from a $146.38 close to a $153.75 open.
• SAP recently delivered solid Q2 cloud growth, with cloud revenue up 22% and current cloud backlog up 27%, which has reassured investors about the company’s core business momentum.
• Despite the upbeat reaction, SAP also faces pressure from lowered 2026 operating profit guidance and a recent miss on EPS and revenue estimates, as AI-related acquisitions are expected to weigh on near-term margins.

SAP SE (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $175.00 to $177.00. The stock had previously closed at $146.38, but opened at $153.75. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. SAP shares last traded at $156.8110, with a volume of 1,382,862 shares.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on SAP. Piper Sandler cut shares of SAP from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of SAP from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of SAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SAP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Santander upgraded shares of SAP from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SAP currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $267.00.

SAP News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting SAP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SAP reported solid Q2 revenue growth and strong cloud demand, including current cloud backlog up 27% and cloud revenue up 22%, which reassured investors that the company’s core growth engine remains intact. SAP Shares Jump After Strong Quarter Reassures Investors of Cloud Business Resilience
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on SAP to $177 and kept an outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can recover further from its recent selloff. SAP price target raised by BMO Capital Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports framed SAP as an AI beneficiary rather than a victim of AI disruption, with analysts pointing to earnings strength and accelerating revenue as reasons investors may rotate back into the name. SAP shrugs off fears of AI eating software with big earnings beat
• Neutral Sentiment: SAP CFO Dominik Asam said most companies are still using AI mainly for basic tasks, suggesting enterprise AI adoption is early and may take time to become a major growth driver. SAP's Dominik Asam says companies mostly use AI for basics
• Neutral Sentiment: Market chatter around unusually high options volume and broader commentary on SAP’s earnings call reflect elevated trading interest, but do not by themselves change the fundamentals. SAP Sees Unusually High Options Volume
• Negative Sentiment: SAP lowered its 2026 operating profit outlook, saying AI-related acquisitions such as Dremio and Prior Labs will dilute earnings in the near term, which pressured sentiment. SAP Quarterly Statement Q2 2026
• Negative Sentiment: The company missed Q2 EPS and revenue estimates, and Wall Street highlighted slowing operating profit growth, reinforcing concerns that heavy AI spending could weigh on margins before benefits show up. SAP Second-Quarter Revenue Up on Cloud Business Results, Operating Profit Guidance Lowered on Slowing Growth

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dara Capital US Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SAP in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,342,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its stake in SAP by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 78,880 shares of the software maker's stock worth $19,161,000 after buying an additional 6,315 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in SAP by 59.7% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,091 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,097,000 after buying an additional 6,763 shares during the period. Rock Point Advisors LLC lifted its stake in SAP by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Rock Point Advisors LLC now owns 33,569 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $8,154,000 after buying an additional 13,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in SAP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,512,000.

SAP Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $165.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.61.

SAP (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. SAP had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that SAP SE will post 8.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SAP Company Profile

SAP SE is a global enterprise software company headquartered in Walldorf, Germany. Founded in 1972 by five former IBM engineers, the company's name is an acronym for Systeme, Anwendungen und Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung (Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing). SAP develops and sells software and services that help organizations manage business processes across finance, human resources, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and customer relationships.

SAP's product portfolio spans on‑premises and cloud offerings, anchored by its enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions such as SAP S/4HANA and the SAP HANA in‑memory database and platform.

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