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Stifel Upgrades Shopify to Buy, Citing Agentic Commerce as Next Growth Driver

Stifel upgraded Shopify to buy on Friday and raised its price target to $150 from $110, arguing that agentic AI commerce will accelerate the platform's share gains even as the technology's financial impact remains in early stages.

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Sara Montes de Oca
JUL 10, 2026 · 09:03 AM ET · 2 MIN READ
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Stifel raised its rating on Shopify to buy from hold on Friday, lifting its price target to $150 from $110 and pointing to the emerging wave of autonomous AI-powered shopping as a catalyst that could accelerate the e-commerce platform's already consistent market-share gains.

The revised target implies roughly 22% upside from Thursday's closing price, reflecting the firm's view that Shopify is better positioned than competitors to capitalize on agentic commerce — the use of AI-powered bots to discover and complete purchases on behalf of consumers or businesses.

"Shopify's outsized [gross merchandise value] growth is clear evidence of consistent share-gains, which we believe will accelerate as agentic commerce proliferates," analyst J. Parker Lane wrote in the upgrade note.

Lane described Shopify's adoption infrastructure as unusually accessible, noting that merchants can enable agent-driven storefronts with a "flick of a button." He added that management attributed the company's broad-based strength to growth across geographies, merchant sizes, and sales channels rather than any single factor.

The global agentic AI market is projected to reach $24.5 billion by 2030, according to market research firm Grand View Research. Even so, Lane acknowledged that monetization of AI in retail "is early," and that the technology's full impact on Shopify's share price will likely take time to materialize.

"It's an emerging new channel that merchants are still figuring out, with agent-driven traffic still challenging to measure, and certain products not being a good fit relative to more retail/consumer goods," Lane wrote.

Despite those near-term caveats, the analyst said "AI adoption is real," and could eventually drive considerable upside.

The call aligns with the broader Wall Street consensus on Shopify. Of the 47 analysts currently covering the stock, 36 carry a buy or strong buy rating. Shopify shares have declined 23% in 2026 heading into the upgrade, a drawdown that Stifel appears to view as an entry opportunity rather than a structural concern.

Stifel's upgrade was one of several notable analyst moves on Friday. Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on Nvidia following a non-deal roadshow with CEO Jensen Huang and other executives, during which the company described "accelerating growth rates" even as quarterly revenues approach the $100 billion mark. Morgan Stanley also reiterated SpaceX as overweight, citing the release of Grok 4.5 as a meaningful catalyst for its AI ambitions.

Separately, Wells Fargo upgraded Seagate to overweight from equal weight with a $1,100 price target, up from $900, arguing that a recent market pullback has created a favorable entry point ahead of what the firm called a path to more than $50 in earnings per share.

For Shopify, the core question is timing. Lane's note suggests the infrastructure is in place and merchant interest is real — but translating agentic commerce activity into measurable revenue growth remains a work in progress that analysts and investors will be watching closely through the back half of 2026.

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━ ABOUT THE REPORTER
Sara Montes de Oca

Sara Montes de Oca is the Editor in Chief of TechEchelon. Previously a correspondent and producer in Washington, D.C., covering business, finance, and politics.

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