Cloudflare jumps following BofA double upgrade to 'buy' on strong AI growth prospects

Software firm Cloudflare's NET.N shares rise 5.4% to $130.65 premarket

Brokerage BofA Global Research upgrades stock to "buy" from "underperform", raises PT by $100 to $160

New PT represents 29.1% upside to stock's last close

Brokerage Cloudflare expected to become a leader in AIaaS, expected to be the preferred AI consumption method for enterprises

AIaaS provides AI services and tools via cloud computing, enabling businesses and developers to use AI technologies without investing in or maintaining the underlying infrastructure

Brokerage believes company offers cost-effective alternative to building AI capacity, attracting customers away from larger rivals like AWS from Amazon AMZN.O, Oracle ORCL.N , and Azure from Microsoft MSFT.O due to ease of use, scalability and utilization benefits

"We think Cloudflare is poised to be one of the true AI winners in software"- brokerage

14 out of 34 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 16 "hold", 4 "sell" or higher; median PT $148.50, according to LSEG data

As of last close, Cloudflare's shares up ~29% in past 12 months