$NICE

Nice Building 'Right Platform' for Future of Enterprise Customer Experience, RBC Says

Nice (NICE) is building the "right platform" for the future of enterprise customer experience despite near-term uncertainty around revenue conversion, RBC Capital Markets said in a report emailed Wednesday.Following the company's annual customer conference and investor day, the analysts at the firm came away "incrementally positive" on the company, citing strong artificial intelligence adoption, the full integration of Cognigy into the CXone platform, and an expanding partner ecosystem. Management left its fiscal 2026 guidance and fiscal 2028 targets unchanged, the firm said.The firm noted that AI adoption continues to gain traction, with all customer experience and contact center-as-a-service deals over the past three quarters including AI capabilities. AI customers generate 36% higher average revenue per user and 4.5 times higher average revenue per customer than non-AI customers, according to the report.RBC has an outperform rating on Nice with a price target of $130.Price: $87.94, Change: $-0.69, Percent Change: -0.77%

Nice's Story Sounds Good But Questions Remain, Wedbush Says

Nice (NICE) provided a sound story at its Investor Day event but questions remain, Wedbush said in a Wednesday note.Nice laid out its evolution from a seat-based contact center as a service firm into an orchestrated CX-AI platform, with recently acquired Cognigy now integrated into CXone, the note said.The firm's core thesis is that point solutions cannot replicate its combined conversational AI, voice, workforce management, and data intelligence on one platform, the report said."While we came away more constructive on the platform vision and the AI monetization data, the persistent gap between that narrative and mid-single-digit reported revenue growth rates keeps us on the sidelines," the report said.Wedbush maintained its neutral rating while lowering its price target to $100 from $120, saying that "many questions still remain about growth and the AI challenges ahead."Price: $87.82, Change: $-0.80, Percent Change: -0.90%

Nice Remains Leading Cloud Contact Center Player With Limited Competition, Morgan Stanley Says

Nice (NICE) remains a leading player in the cloud contact center market, with limited competitors able to offer similar functionality at scale and strong conversational artificial intelligence capabilities, Morgan Stanley said in a Monday note.The company's large base of legacy on-premise workforce engagement management customers provides a durable source of growth as those customers transition to cloud offerings at higher average selling prices, the investment firm said. Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on Nice to $130 from $148 while maintaining its overweight rating.Morgan Stanley highlighted RingCentral's (RNG) leadership position in the unified communications market and cited the company's relationships with providers including Avaya, AT&T (T) and BT. Those partnerships give RingCentral access to about half of unified communications-as-a-service deals, the brokerage added.While uncertainty around RingCentral's longer-term growth profile remains, the company continues to execute on profitability expansion and improving capital returns, Morgan Stanley said. The firm raised its price target on RingCentral to $40 from $33 while maintaining its equal-weight rating.Price: $90.56, Change: $-2.17, Percent Change: -2.34%

Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Hold Rating On Shares Of Nice Ltd.

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We lower our target price to $100, from $109, on a forward P/E of 8x our 2027 EPS projection of $12.47, below its three-year average. We increase our 2026 EPS estimate to $11.09 from $10.89 and raise our 2027 EPS forecast to $12.47 from $12.07. NICE reported Q1 revenue of $769M, up 10% Y/Y and exceeding guidance, with cloud revenue of $603M growing 14.6% Y/Y (12% excluding Cognigy). CX AI and self-service ARR surged 66% Y/Y to $345M, with 100% of CXone enterprise deals including AI solutions and average deal sizes rising double digits. Non-GAAP operating margin contracted to 26% from 30.5% in Q1 2025, reflecting higher investments. The lighter full-year cloud growth guidance to 13%-15% from 14.5%-15% drew attention. Management cited proactive pricing discounts offered to large customers at renewals in exchange for broader AI commitments and faster deal closures. While we view Q1 momentum positively, we are concerned that pricing concessions may signal weakening pricing power in a more competitive environment.

Nice's Q1 Beat on AI Demand to be Overshadowed by Weaker Q2 Guidance, Wedbush Says

Nice's (NICE) Q1 beat on top and bottom lines on robust AI demand for customer experience will be overshadowed by lower-than-expected guidance, Wedbush said in a Thursday research report.Nice offered weaker-than-expected Q2 revenue guidance despite a healthy demand environment as cloud revenue growth could be lower than the full-year range in Q2, reflecting its actions to win long-term AI commitments from large clients, according to Wedbush.The company's net revenue retention fell in Q1 from a year earlier amid near-term pressure from its portfolio shift toward AI-powered capabilities, which can also compress some CX components, according to the note.Q1 revenue beat was driven by the cloud segment as the company sees steady AI adoption and monetization, while all of CXone enterprise agreements included AI offerings, analysts wrote.The brokerage said it reiterated its neutral rating on the stock and price target of $120 per share.Price: $98.68, Change: $+1.83, Percent Change: +1.89%

RBC Capital Adjusts NICE Price Target to $130 From $150, Maintains Outperform Rating

RBC Capital Adjusts NICE Price Target to $130 From $150, Maintains Outperform Rating

Top Premarket Decliners

Atomera (ATOM) shares were 37% lower in Wednesday premarket activity, shaving gains from the previous session.Primoris Services (PRIM) stock was down 30% after the company posted overnight lower Q1 adjusted net income and revenue that also missed analysts' estimates in addition to issuing lower-than-expected 2026 non-GAAP EPS outlook.NICE (NICE) shares were down 13% after the company reported lower Q1 adjusted EPS in addition to setting Q2 and 2026 guidance that trailed analysts' forecasts.Occidental Petroleum (OXY) stock was 7.8% lower, a day after the company posted lower Q1 revenue.

Research Alert: Nice: Q1 Results Beat But Offset By Margin Headwinds And Lower Cloud Outlook.

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:NICE reported Q1 non-GAAP EPS of $2.64, beating consensus by $0.12 but declining 8% Y/Y from $2.87. Total revenues of $768.6M grew 10% Y/Y, exceeding guidance and consensus, with cloud revenue of $603.4M up 14.6% Y/Y. AI annual recurring revenue surged 66% Y/Y, with AI included in 100% of CXone enterprise deals, demonstrating strong adoption of NICE's AI-native platform. However, non-GAAP operating margin compressed 450 bps Y/Y to 26.0%, reflecting higher operating expenses from strategic AI investments and Cognigy integration costs. We believe the margin pressure is temporary as NICE invests in its AI capabilities, and strong cash generation of $179.2M supported $253M in share repurchases, demonstrating management's commitment to capital returns during this investment phase. Management raised full-year 2026 EPS guidance to $10.98-$11.18 from $10.85-$11.05, above the beat, while reiterating revenue guidance of $3,170M-$3,190M. NICE also lowered its cloud growth expectations to 13%-15% Y/Y (from 14.5%-15%).

Research Alert: CFRA Raises Rating On Shares Of Nice Ltd. To Hold From Sell

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We raise our target price to $109 from $104, on a forward P/E of 9x our 2027 EPS projection of $12.07, below its three-year average on weaker earnings growth. We lower our 2026 EPS estimate to $10.89 from $10.91 and raise our 2027 EPS forecast to $12.07 from $12.06. Our rating upgrade reflects our views on NICE's valuation and AI adoption momentum, partially offset by macroeconomic uncertainty from the continuing Iran conflict and AI displacement risks. Although risks have increased, we note encouraging AI demand reported by software vendors, and see potential for NICE's AI ARR to scale faster than expected. Agentic tools are also gaining traction in the enterprise as firms double down on automation, and the addition of Cognigy is likely to broaden and improve pipeline activity in the coming quarters. While we remain cautious of NICE's outlook, we think its current valuation (multiple has compressed 12% since our last update) sufficiently bakes in these risks.

NICE Says Bell Integration Selects CXone Platform to Support Service Desk Projects

NICE (NICE) said Monday that information technology services and consultancy Bell Integration has selected its CXone platform to back service desk and business development operations.Initial deployment will be in three sites and will support up to 1,000 employees, the company said.Financial details were not provided.NICE shares were up nearly 2% in morning trading.Price: $102.69, Change: $+2.34, Percent Change: +2.33%

NICE Shares Fall After Downgrade From Citigroup

NICE's (NICE) shares were down more than 6% in Friday trading after Citigroup downgraded the company's stock to neutral from buy and lowered its price target to $119 from $184.Trading volume stood at over 573,100 shares, versus the daily average of 816,270.Price: $97.73, Change: $-6.68, Percent Change: -6.40%

Citigroup Downgrades NICE to Neutral From Buy, Adjusts Price Target to $119 From $184