Shares of Shopify (SHOP -2.37%) have already jumped 167% so far in 2020, but will surge to new all-time highs over the coming year.
That's according to KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Josh Beck. On Tuesday, Beck raised his price target from $1,150 to $1,250, while maintaining his overweight (buy) rating on Shopify's stock. His new target represents potential gains for investors of roughly 17% over the stock's closing price on Monday of about $1,066.
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Beck sees the Shopify Fulfillment Network, which launched in 2019, as a catalyst for growth, and he is more bullish after a recent deep dive into its process. The company said late last year that it planned to spend more than $1 billion to build out its fulfillment capabilities over the coming five years, with the eventual aim of providing two-day shipping to 99% of the U.S., to better compete with Amazon (AMZN -1.64%).
He noted that the initiative has developed into "a full-fledged, tightly integrated fulfillment solution for Shopify merchants and includes order/inventory management solutions, branding and data controls, and access to scalable, flexible warehousing space to sell across multiple channels."
Shopify jump-started its ambitions last year with the $450 million acquisition of privately held 6 River Systems, a leading provider of collaborative warehouse fulfillment technology. Since then, the company has developed a vast array of software and robotic systems that automate and optimize many of the fulfillment functions.
Will Shopify's stock price hit $1,250? The evidence suggests that Beck's thinking is sound. Fulfillment is the natural next step in Shopify's evolution, giving its merchants the tools necessary to compete in an e-commerce world ruled by Amazon. Shopify generated $1.58 billion in revenue last year, but fulfillment represents a total addressable market of $500 billion in the coming years, helping to illustrate the magnitude of its opportunity.
