Shopify Stock Bounces Back As Analysts React To Q4 Earnings

Shopify, Inc. SHOP reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings this week, but issued light guidance for the current period. Here's a look at early reactions from several Shopify analysts.

Analyst Take: RBC Capital Markets analyst Paul Treiber was the most bullish on Shopify following earnings as he sees the company's success in new markets, including digital advertising, as a driver for long-term margin expansion.

In Shopify’s quarterly report, the company said it expects its 2024 gross margin to be 150 basis points higher on a year-over-year basis.

RBC also made note of Shopify's attractive positioning within its large total addressable market. The analyst firm maintained Shopify with an Outperform rating and price target of $100. 

Roth MKM analyst Darren Aftahi remained optimistic on Shopify following the print, noting the company's success in both offline and B2B segments outgrew e-commerce and enabled the company to reach more merchants and customers internationally.

Roth MKM maintained Shopify with a Buy rating and raised the price target from $85 to $89 following the company’s quarterly results.

Mizuho analyst Siti Panigrahi highlighted the same strong offline and international growth as the Roth MKM analyst, but noted that he will continue to monitor Shopify's profitability. 

Panigrahi explained that although Shopify reported strong fourth-quarter results, investors were disappointed by operating profit and free-cash-flow margin guidance which Shopify sees in the high single-digit range, versus Wall Street's projected 13%.

Mizuho mainted Shopify with a Neutral rating and raised the price target from $65 to $75.

Other notable analyst updates include:

• Oppenheimer analyst Ken Wong maintained Shopify with an Outperform and price target of $90. 
• Piper Sandler analyst Clarke Jeffries maintained Shopify with an Underweight and raised the price target from $56 to $63. 
• Baird analyst Colin Sebastian maintained Shopify with an Outperform and a price target of $85. 
• JMP analyst Andrew Boone maintained Shopify with a Market Perform. 
• Benchmark analyst Mark Zqutowicz maintained Shopify with a Hold. 

SHOP Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Shopify shares were trading up 2.66% at $79.23 at the time of publication.

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