Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Shopify (SHOP) was upgraded to a "strong‑buy" by Piper Sandler, joining DZ Bank's similar upgrade; overall analyst coverage shows 3 Strong Buy, 31 Buy and 10 Hold with a consensus price target of $163.38 (average rating: Moderate Buy).
• Analysts cite concrete upside from payments and merchant growth plus AI integrations (e.g., catalog/checkout automation and Klaviyo integration) that could boost GMV capture and revenue per merchant if adoption scales.
• Key risks include technical/operational issues (recent outages), and stretched fundamentals—shares trade below both the 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages with a high trailing P/E (~132) and elevated PEG (~4.5)—making the stock sensitive to execution or monetization slowdowns.

Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP - Get Free Report) TSE: SHOP was upgraded by analysts at Piper Sandler to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on SHOP. DZ Bank upgraded Shopify from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $126.00 target price (down from $181.00) on shares of Shopify in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of Shopify from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Shopify in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $165.00 price target on Shopify and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.38.

Shopify Stock Performance

Shares of SHOP opened at $122.96 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $133.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.61. The company has a market capitalization of $160.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 2.83. Shopify has a fifty-two week low of $69.84 and a fifty-two week high of $182.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shopify

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SHOP. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Shopify by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the software maker's stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Shopify by 2.0% in the third quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,438 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Shopify by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the software maker's stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in Shopify by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 233 shares of the software maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Shopify by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,265 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 69.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Shopify News

Here are the key news stories impacting Shopify this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target after OpenAI decided not to enable in‑ChatGPT purchases, which Jefferies views as reducing a competitive threat to Shopify’s checkout and payments opportunity. This upgrade supports upside to monetization of AI-driven commerce. Jefferies Raises PT on Shopify (SHOP) Following OpenAI Decision
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler initiated coverage with an "Overweight" rating and a $165 PT (~34% upside from the current level), citing payments and merchant growth as key drivers. Analyst coverage and a constructive PT can attract buyers. Benzinga Coverage Note
• Positive Sentiment: Shopify is embedding AI across commerce—enabling AI assistants to surface merchant catalogs and route transactions through Shopify’s checkout/payments—which could increase GMV capture and revenue per merchant if adoption scales. Shopify Bets Big on AI Commerce: Is it the Next Growth Catalyst?
• Positive Sentiment: Shopify’s Klaviyo integration (Locale Aware Catalogs) strengthens its enterprise and global merchant proposition by automating localized catalogs, pricing and marketing — a product move that targets larger brands and cross‑sell opportunities. Shopify And Klaviyo Integration Highlights Global Ambitions And Valuation Tension
• Positive Sentiment: Longer‑term bullish narratives: commentary (e.g., Motley Fool) places Shopify among AI winners that could materially expand value over several years, supporting a growth story for patient investors. Prediction: 2 AI Stocks Will Be Worth More Than Palantir Technologies in 5 Years
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes the stock is up ~14% since the last earnings report, signaling recent momentum but asking whether that trend can continue without clearer earnings leverage. Shopify (SHOP) Up 14% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also highlights SHOP has declined ~11% over six months, reflecting recent volatility and investor concern about execution/valuation despite AI momentum. SHOP Declines 11% in 6 Months: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Service reliability concern — Downdetector reported outages affecting thousands of users; repeated or high‑impact outages can dent merchant trust and short‑term GMV. Shopify Down for Thousands of Users, Downdetector Reports
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and technical pressure — SHOP trades below its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages, has a high trailing P/E (~132) and elevated PEG (~4.65), which increases sensitivity to any slowdown in revenue/monetization.

About Shopify

Shopify is a Canadian commerce technology company that provides a cloud-based platform for businesses to create, manage and scale online and physical retail stores. Its core offering is a software-as-a-service e-commerce platform that enables merchants to build customizable storefronts, manage product catalogs, process orders, and handle inventory. Shopify also supports omnichannel selling through integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems for in-person transactions.

Beyond storefront software, Shopify offers a range of merchant services and tools designed to simplify commerce operations.

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