Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) (TSE:SHOP) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $94.01, but opened at $99.63. Shopify shares last traded at $99.66, with a volume of 3,106,628 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHOP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Shopify in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Shopify from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Shopify from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. ATB Capital boosted their target price on Shopify from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Shopify from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.31.

Shopify Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.27 and its 200 day moving average is $99.08. The stock has a market cap of $129.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 2.60.

Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) (TSE:SHOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The software maker reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.10). Shopify had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 22.74%. As a group, analysts forecast that Shopify Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Shopify by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 889 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC increased its position in Shopify by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Shopify by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 4,949 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Shopify by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,114 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, First United Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Shopify by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 4,590 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.27% of the company’s stock.

Shopify Company Profile

Shopify Inc, a commerce company, provides a commerce platform and services in Canada, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, China, and Latin America. The company’s platform enables merchants to displays, manages, markets, and sells its products through various sales channels, including web and mobile storefronts, physical retail locations, pop-up shops, social media storefronts, native mobile apps, buy buttons, and marketplaces; and enables to manage products and inventory, process orders and payments, fulfill and ship orders, new buyers and build customer relationships, source products, leverage analytics and reporting, manage cash, payments and transactions, and access financing.