Shopify stock was climbing Monday after an analyst upgraded shares of the e-commerce platform on confidence in growth.
Citi analyst Tyler Radke upgraded shares of Shopify to Buy from Neutral, and increased his target price to $105 from $93, which implies a 47% increase in the stock price as of Friday's close.
"Our Deep-Dive analysis into SHOP's Merchant Solutions business gives us confidence in SHOP's long-term growth," Radke wrote in a research note. He added, "With shares off 20%+ from Feb highs, and trading at a discount on growth-adjusted valuation (vs. large-cap peers), we see an attractive entry point."
Shares of Shopify were rising 3.5% in premarket trading Monday, while S&P 500 futures are 0.3% higher. Radke's upgrade comes after the stock has slipped 8.4% this year.
Another reason Radke upgraded the stock was because of strong e-commerce trends during the quarter.
"U.S. retail sales rose by more than forecast in March and more importantly the prior month was revised higher, showcasing resilient consumer demand which is a positive readthrough for Shopify," he wrote.
Radke also cited a "more reasonable valuation." Several analysts have cited concerns in recent months over the stock's high valuation, as shares traded at around 82 times forward earnings at the beginning of the year. Now, the stock is trading at 63.45 times expected earnings over the next 12 months.
Shopify is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on May 8.
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