Analyst Ratings February 23, 2026

Bernstein Sticks With Outperform on Datadog After Analyst Day; $180 Price Target Reaffirmed

Firm cites Bits.ai positioning, on-prem offering and shift toward line-of-business software as reasons for sustained conviction

By Marcus Reed DDOG
Bernstein Sticks With Outperform on Datadog After Analyst Day; $180 Price Target Reaffirmed
DDOG

Bernstein SocGen Group has reiterated an Outperform rating and a $180 price target on Datadog Inc (NASDAQ:DDOG) following the company’s analyst day on February 12. The firm highlighted three strategic elements that bolster its long-term confidence: Datadog’s positioning in Bits.ai, the addition of an on-premise product to limit full-churn risk at large customers, and the company’s intent to evolve into line-of-business software. The stock is trading at $115.66 and revenue grew 27.68% over the last twelve months.

Key Points

  • Bernstein SocGen Group reiterated an Outperform rating on Datadog and kept a $180 price target after the company’s analyst day on February 12.
  • Analyst Peter Weed highlighted three drivers increasing conviction: Datadog's positioning in Bits.ai, its new on-premise offering to reduce full-churn risk and expand customer opportunities, and a strategic shift toward line-of-business software.
  • Other broker reactions were mixed - Stifel and DA Davidson maintained Buy ratings (with $160 and $225 targets respectively), BMO reiterated Outperform at $165, Citizens kept Market Perform, and Scotiabank lowered its target to $160 but kept a Sector Outperform rating.

Bernstein SocGen Group has reaffirmed an Outperform rating on Datadog Inc (NASDAQ:DDOG), maintaining a $180 price target after the company presented at its first analyst day since 2024 on Thursday, February 12. The research house said the session increased its long-term conviction in the software monitoring and observability platform.

Datadog shares are trading at $115.66 and have declined 7.62% over the past week, even as the company continues to show topline expansion. Revenue for the last twelve months rose 27.68%, a figure Bernstein and other analysts are weighing alongside product and go-to-market developments discussed during the investor event.

In a note following the presentation, Bernstein analyst Peter Weed outlined three specific drivers that strengthened the firm’s outlook. First, the analyst cited Datadog’s positioning in Bits.ai - a strategic area Bernstein believes could improve product pull-through across the platform. Second, the firm pointed to the company’s on-premise offering, which Bernstein said may help reduce full-churn risk among the largest customers while also creating avenues to win new accounts. Third, Bernstein emphasized Datadog’s stated intention to move from primarily end-user role productivity tooling toward becoming line-of-business software - a shift the firm views as meaningful for long-term adoption and monetization.

Independent evaluations referenced by analysts include a financial health rating of "Fair" from InvestingPro, which also notes Datadog’s strong profitability metrics. Gross profit margins near 80% were highlighted as a particularly robust element of the company’s financial profile.

Datadog’s investor day has prompted a range of responses across the sell-side, underscoring differing views on growth potential and competitive positioning. Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $160 price target, citing opportunities tied to newer products and a user-first monitoring approach. DA Davidson also kept a Buy stance, but with a higher $225 target, pointing to Datadog’s platform direction and its autonomous observability strategy. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an Outperform rating with a $165 target, noting Datadog’s place in the evolving AI market while acknowledging there are competitive risks.

Other firms offered more measured takes. Citizens retained a Market Perform rating, while recognizing Datadog’s strength across infrastructure monitoring, application performance monitoring, and log management - each reporting more than $1 billion in annual recurring revenue. Scotiabank lowered its price target to $160 from $180 but maintained a Sector Outperform rating, citing the company’s strong 2026 revenue guidance and a notable deal involving Anthropic.

The mix of reiterations and diverging targets highlights the range of analyst assessments that followed the analyst day. Some firms emphasized product-led growth and platform expansion as catalysts, while others tempered enthusiasm with concerns about competition and valuation. For investors, the day reinforced several strategic priorities for Datadog: increasing pull-through, reducing churn risk among large customers through on-prem options, and shifting toward broader line-of-business adoption.


Note: This article presents analyst ratings and firm commentary released after Datadog's analyst day and reflects the positions and price targets cited by those firms.

Risks

  • Competitive risk in the AI and observability market - BMO cited potential competitive pressures that could affect Datadog's positioning and growth.
  • Variation in analyst price targets and ratings - the spread of targets from $160 to $225 indicates uncertainty in near-term valuation and growth execution.
  • Customer churn dynamics - while the on-premise offering may reduce full-churn risk among large customers, churn remains a material variable for revenue sustainability and is a factor for enterprise software buyers and investors.

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