Investing.com -- Wedbush analyst Dan Ives raised his price target on IBM (NYSE:IBM) shares to $325 from $300, a move driven by increased confidence in the company’s position as a major beneficiary of the AI revolution.
IBM remains one of Wedbush’s top software picks and is featured on its “IVES AI 30” list, which focuses on "AI winners."
“We believe IBM is still under owned and in the early stages of a renaissance of growth with AI the key driver,” Ives said in a Friday report. Despite a strong run so far in 2025, Ives sees further upside tied to the company’s expanding AI and cloud initiatives, reiterating an Outperform rating on the stock.
The analyst pointed to IBM’s $6 billion-plus generative AI book of business as a foundational strength. The company now supports over 70 AI-infused workflows across areas such as sales, finance, and marketing.
Growth is also underpinned by demand for Red Hat and HashiCorp (NASDAQ:HCP) products. Wedbush noted that IBM’s hybrid cloud and AI architecture enables continuous innovation, with three-quarters of AI expected to run on containers by 2027.
Furthermore, Wedbush’s checks suggest continued momentum across IBM’s AI agents and WatsonX platform. The broker said customers are increasingly turning to IBM to build and scale AI use cases, while overall buying behavior remains stable.
“The company continues to note that it has not seen any changes in customer buying behavior across its product portfolio,” the analysts wrote.
Looking ahead, IBM is also investing in quantum computing. Its roadmap includes the Quantum Starling system and the upcoming Quantum Nighthawk chip, both aimed at enhancing fault tolerance and connectivity. While still early, Ives sees IBM’s efforts as part of a broader strategy to lead in a multi-billion-dollar quantum computing market.
“We believe that IBM is well-positioned to capitalize on the current demand shift for hybrid and AI applications with more enterprises looking to implement AI for productivity gains and drive long-term profitable growth,” the note concluded.
