Bullish optimism continues to percolate for Shopify (SHOP 1.11%). A pair of analysts jacked up their price targets on the fast-growing e-commerce platform provider late last week, following positive developer reactions to the new products announced at Shopify's Unite conference.
DA Davidson's Tom Forte boosting his price goal from $120 to $130 is nice, but he's neutral on the stock. His revised goalpost is actually lower than where the stock currently rests. Forte walked away from the Unite conference confident in Shopify's international expansion potential and management's ability to drum up more incremental revenue than he was previously targeting, but he remains concerned about the stock's valuation even if things go according to plan.
Darren Aftahi at Roth Capital is the other analyst that revised his price target higher following the partner and developer conference, and he has a more upbeat opinion on Shopify as an investment. He feels that the great growth stock story will continue to play out favorably for those long the stock following the online retail enabler's announcements at Unite. He is increasing his price target from $152 to $165.
Image source: Shopify.
Setting up shop
Boosting price targets higher is something Wall Street has learned to do when it comes to Shopify. The stock has been one of the market's biggest winners, more than tripling -- up 238% -- since the start of last year.
Shopify's growth despite its size continues to mesmerize bulls and squeeze out short-sellers. Revenue soared 68% in its latest quarterly report. Analysts were only holding out for 58% top-line growth, but "beat and raise" has become routine for Shopify. It puts out conservative guidance, and analysts believe the lowball projections. Shopify expects to top $1 billion in revenue this year.
Growth is slowing, and Shopify's own guidance earlier this month calls for revenue to rise just 52% to 55% in the current quarter. However, most growth investors would love to find a company cranking out growth of better than 50% as it put up 10-figure annual revenue.
The stock may not be cheap by any traditional valuation measuring stick, but it's hard to bet against a company that Wall Street pros continue to underestimate. Last week's price hikes may take some time to play out. It's not as if Shopify's growing base of partners will immediately embrace the new products, machine functionality applications, and data science improvements that were discussed at the Unite conference. However, it's hard to wager against a winner, and that's just what Shopify has become in trouncing the market over the past two years.
