Analyst Actions: Raymond James Sets Street-High SpaceX Target, Bernstein Downgrades Salesforce on AI Woes

A series of significant analyst ratings this week have reshaped the outlook for several key players in the artificial intelligence space, highlighted by a new Street-high price target for SpaceX and a cautionary downgrade for Salesforce. The moves reflect diverging views on how effectively companies are capitalizing on AI-driven growth opportunities.

Bullish Calls on Infrastructure and E-Commerce

Raymond James initiated coverage on SpaceX with a Strong Buy rating and an $800 price target, the highest on Wall Street. The firm's thesis centers on the convergence of industrialized space access and AI, which it calls "the most significant infrastructure convergence since the advent of the Internet." Analyst Brian Gesuale argued that SpaceX's Starship vehicle, by drastically cutting launch costs, is creating "the foundational platform for the next generation of industrial capacity."

• The firm estimates SpaceX's total addressable market approaches $30 trillion.
• Revenue is projected to grow from approximately $38.5 billion today to over $837 billion by 2031.
• The price target is based on a discounted cash flow analysis of the firm's 2031 EBITDA estimates.

Meanwhile, Stifel upgraded Shopify to Buy from Hold, raising its price target to $150 from $110. The analyst cited the stock's recent decline as an attractive entry point, viewing the company as a "high-quality compounder" that is "writing the agentic commerce playbook." Stifel sees a path to 30%-plus revenue growth in 2026, supported by strong market share gains and growth in its enterprise, B2B, and international segments.

Salesforce Downgraded, Alibaba Endorsed

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Bernstein downgraded Salesforce to Sector Weight from Outperform and removed its price target, citing poor customer feedback on the company's Agentforce AI product. Analyst Jackson Ader noted that conversations with customers revealed that their data is often not organized for meaningful AI implementation and that the product itself "just isn’t there."

In contrast, Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and $172 price objective on Alibaba, calling it "one of the most compelling AI plays in China." The bank forecasts AI-led demand will help accelerate Alibaba's cloud revenue growth to 45% year-over-year in the June quarter, up from 38% previously. While core advertising revenue is expected to remain soft, BofA sees a key earnings inflection point in fiscal 2027 driven by a recovery in commerce profits and AI monetization.

Semiconductor Selloff Seen as Overdone

Following Samsung's preliminary second-quarter results, Mizuho TMT specialist Jordan Klein called the subsequent semiconductor sell-off an overreaction. He argued that while revenue missed forecasts, operating profit was a "strong beat" excluding one-time expenses, implying memory operating margins of over 80%.

Klein asserted that the revenue miss was attributable to mobile devices and TVs, not the core memory business. He noted that pricing trends for DRAM and NAND memory look "very strong" for the third quarter, with some forecasts suggesting a 35-40% sequential increase for NAND. The analyst suggested investors focus on upcoming results from TSMC and ASML for a clearer picture of the sector's health.