BUZZ-Cloudflare jumps after Citi upgrades, hikes PT by 50% to Street-high

Cloudflare's NET.N shares jump >5% early Fri after Citi upgraded to 'buy' from 'neutral', saying it has improved confidence in software firm's fundamentals and growth prospects

NET shares rise as much as 5.4% to $121.02, highest levels since Apr 2022. Shares last up 3% at $118.26

Citi hiked PT from $95 to Street-high $145, per LSEG, implying 26% upside to stock's last close

Cloudflare enjoying high investor credibility with GenAI exposure given its relationship with Apple AAPL.O around the iPhone maker's Personal Cloud Compute and other AI focused initiatives, Citi said in note

Citi said it has higher conviction in co's ability to deliver sustainable 27%-30% topline growth

In its last report, Cloudflare forecasted Q4 rev below consensus, impacted by heightened competition in cybersecurity market

Of 34 brokerages covering NET, recommendation breakdown is 16 "strong buy" or "buy", 15 "hold" and 3 "sell" or "strong sell" with median PT of $110 - LSEG

With move on the session, NET shares up ~10% YTD and up ~50% in the past six months

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))