Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOP) (TSE:SHOP) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Atb Cormark Cm upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $127.24, but opened at $138.90. Shopify shares last traded at $115.90, with a volume of 12,952,965 shares trading hands.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Shopify in a report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank raised shares of Shopify from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Shopify from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Shopify from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Shopify in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.21.

Shopify News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Shopify this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company issued above‑consensus revenue guidance for Q1 and said momentum across merchants, regions and channels should continue — a main catalyst for the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Shopify reported strong top‑line metrics for FY2025 (about $11.6B revenue) and announced a $2 billion share‑repurchase program, signaling confidence and supporting the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment turned constructive: recent upgrades and bullish commentary (AI tailwinds, merchant momentum) helped lift expectations ahead of/after the print. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell sharply in January (down ~27%), reducing a potential headwind from short sellers and limiting immediate downside pressure.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary emphasizes Shopify’s AI integration and platform positioning as a multi‑quarter growth driver; this is strategic upside but longer‑dated. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Benchmark lowered its price target from $195 to $145 but retained a buy rating — a mixed signal: lower near‑term upside but continued analyst support. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS came in below consensus across outlets (reports range from $0.38 to $0.46 vs. consensus around $0.41–$0.50), which is a near‑term drag and explains some intra‑day volatility. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Some firms remain cautious — BMO issued a pessimistic near‑term forecast — which could cap gains if institutional sellers reappear. Read More.

Institutional Trading of Shopify

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Shopify by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,670,627 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $8,158,643,000 after acquiring an additional 743,803 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Shopify by 64.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,923,431 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,812,211,000 after purchasing an additional 7,403,821 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Shopify in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,611,797,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Shopify by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 14,622,787 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,686,738,000 after purchasing an additional 191,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Shopify by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,601,476 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,043,365,000 after buying an additional 737,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.27% of the company’s stock.

Shopify Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.25. The stock has a market cap of $149.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 2.83.

Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP) (TSE:SHOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The software maker reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). Shopify had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 16.65%.The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 30.6 on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Shopify Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shopify Company Profile

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.