Snowflakes can turn into snowballs.
On Feb. 27, Snowflake (SNOW) shares surged 9% in morning trading, then narrowed its gain to 4.5%. The market move followed the data-storage and -analytics software company’s report of stronger-than-expected fiscal-fourth-quarter earnings.
For the period ended Jan. 31 the company on Feb. 26 posted adjusted earnings of 30 cents a share on revenue of $987 million, exceeding analysts’ expectations of 17 cents and $956 million, according to LSEG’s data.
In guiding analysts and investors, the Bozeman, Mont., company projects fiscal 2026 first-quarter product revenue between $955 million and $961 million. At the top end, the projection meets the StreetAccount estimate of $961 million.
Snowflake has been ramping up its artificial-intelligence offerings to keep up with the growing competition in developing advanced large language models and AI-driven solutions.
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It has said that it expanded its partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) to integrate OpenAI’s models into its Cortex AI platform.
“We now have over 4,000 customers using our [artificial-intelligence and machine-learning] technology each week,” Chief Executive Sridhar Ramaswamy said in an investors’ call. “Right now, Snowflake is the most consequential data and AI company on the planet.”
He said that health-care giant AstraZeneca uses Snowflake’s AI tools to speed up drug discovery, while financial-services stalwart State Street leverages them to gain market insights and improve investment decisions.
Snowflake is up 12.5% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indexes.
Snowflake/TheStreet
Snowflake’s rise and fall
Snowflake’s stock soared more than 50% in the months following its September 2020 IPO and peaked in November 2021. The stock has since dropped 60%.
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Even after the price drop, Snowflake’s valuation remained high among tech firms. As of Feb. 27’s close, the stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 181.82. By contrast, GuruFocus pegs the forward p/e multiples of Microsoft at around 30 and Oracle at 23.5.
Snowflake stock dropped 22% in 2024, driven by former CEO Frank Slootman’s departure in February, growing cloud-service competition, weaker-than-expected results, and a major data breach affecting dozens of companies.
Analysts bullish on Snowflake stock
After the earnings report at least 14 analysts have raised their stock price targets on Snowflake, according to thefly.com.
UBS raised the firm’s price target on Snowflake to $200 from $190 and reiterated a neutral rating.
The investment firm says Snowflake’s initial fiscal 2026 guidance for 24% growth exceeded expectations. The firm says the departure of the CFO is a setback but is likely unrelated to company performance. (Reports say that on Feb. 25 CFO Michael Scarpelli told the company of his intention to retire. He’d joined Snowflake in 2019.)
Related: Cathie Wood buys $27 million of tumbling AI stock
Barclays raised its price target on Snowflake to $203 from $190 and maintained an overweight rating.
The firm says Snowflake’s sales strength “gives legs” to the emerging machine-learning product story and should move its shares higher.
Oppenheimer lifted its price target on Snowflake to $220 from $200, reiterating an outperform rating and continuing to view Snowflake as a top pick. The firm sees strong Q4 momentum continuing through fiscal 2026 with room for upside to its guidance, especially in the second half of 2026 as the portfolio expands.
Wells Fargo analyst Michael Turrin raised the firm’s price target on Snowflake to $215 from $210 and reiterated an overweight rating. Focus now shifts to the magnitude of potential upside from its emerging AI product cycle, the investment firm said.
At last check Snowflake shares were 1.3% higher at $175.91. Through the close on Feb. 27, the shares were up 12.5% in 2025, outperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.
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