JPMorgan Doubles SAP Price Target as Buyback Total Reaches 9.6 Million Shares

SAP's capital-return programme has now repurchased roughly 9.6 million shares, the Walldorf-based software group disclosed, after picking up about 465,000 of its own stock for some €95.4 million in the latest tranche. The mandatory announcement, published Tuesday, covered purchases made on Xetra between 2 and 6 November and extends a buyback running since late July 2026, during which SAP has spent approximately €1.66 billion on its own equity.

The buying has come at a markedly lower level than in earlier phases. Between April and August 2025, SAP paid an average of €257.60 per share; the stock now trades at €211.50. That gap has not deterred the group, though the economics of further purchases hinge on whether operations can keep generating the cash to fund them.

JPMorgan Turns Bullish on AI Rollout

Analyst sentiment shifted sharply in SAP's favour at the start of the week. JPMorgan upgraded the stock from "Neutral" to "Overweight" and more than doubled its price target, lifting it from €175 to €275. The broker pointed to artificial intelligence pilot projects moving into productive deployment, a shift that raises the importance of integrated core systems. JPMorgan also voiced greater confidence in SAP's margin stability and in the trajectory of cloud orders. According to reports, the upgrade was the trigger behind the share-price advance at the time.

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Cloud Momentum Underpins the Spending

The case for continued buybacks rests on the top line. In the third quarter of 2026, cloud revenue climbed 26% to €6.67 billion, with the short-term cloud backlog up 28% to €24.1 billion. Group revenue for the quarter reached €10.27 billion, while adjusted operating profit rose 18% to €3.03 billion.

Cash generation is the other pillar. SAP expects free cash flow of around €10 billion for the full year, and has guided to a currency-adjusted adjusted operating profit of €11.8 billion to €12.2 billion for 2026. Meeting those targets is what would give the buyback a durable footing — the cloud growth argues in SAP's favour only to the extent that it converts into rising earnings and the anticipated inflows.

AstraZeneca Expands a 20-Year Alliance

Alongside the financial news, SAP and AstraZeneca announced an expansion of a partnership spanning two decades. The pharmaceutical group will migrate to SAP Cloud ERP Private under RISE with SAP and is evaluating the use of SAP Business AI. SAP describes the migration as one of the largest SAP system landscapes in the life-sciences sector, tying the deal to both the corporate-software transition and the potential rollout of additional AI applications.

Investors will get their next hard read on the strategy on 28 January 2027, when SAP publishes preliminary results for the fourth quarter and for the full 2026 financial year. The release is scheduled for around 06:00 CET, followed by the analyst and investor conference at 07:00 CET and the balance-sheet press conference at around 10:00 CET.

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