Analyst Ratings January 27, 2026

Scotiabank Cuts Datadog Price Target to $180, Keeps Sector Outperform

Analysts remain optimistic on revenue momentum despite lower target and competitive chatter

By Derek Hwang DDOG
Scotiabank Cuts Datadog Price Target to $180, Keeps Sector Outperform
DDOG

Scotiabank has reduced its 12-month price target on Datadog to $180 from $217 while retaining a Sector Outperform rating. The bank’s fieldwork points to significant revenue exposure to OpenAI and anticipates stronger top-line growth in 2026 than management guidance. Multiple other brokerages have issued recent positive notes and price targets, reflecting continued analyst interest in Datadog’s cloud-monitoring position amid AI-related market shifts.

Key Points

  • Scotiabank cut Datadog’s price target to $180 from $217 while keeping a Sector Outperform rating, with shares trading at $136.64 and a market cap of $47.92 billion.
  • Scotiabank estimates OpenAI contributes about $310 million in revenue run rate to Datadog and models roughly 23% revenue growth for the company in 2026, versus expected management guidance of 17-18%.
  • Multiple brokerages including Guggenheim, Stifel, TD Cowen, and Bernstein have issued recent positive notes, revisions, or price targets reflecting confidence in Datadog’s revenue momentum and cloud-monitoring position.

Scotiabank has trimmed its price target for Datadog to $180.00 from $217.00 but kept a Sector Outperform rating on the cloud-monitoring company. At the time of Scotiabank’s note, Datadog shares were trading at $136.64 and the company’s market value stood at $47.92 billion, according to the figures cited by the bank.

In its analysis, Scotiabank estimates that OpenAI represents roughly $310 million in revenue run rate for Datadog, a figure derived from what the firm calls a "bottoms up analysis" of the company’s customer exposure. The bank’s research team expects Datadog’s revenue to expand by about 23% in 2026, a pace that exceeds the 17% to 18% revenue growth range it anticipates management may provide in formal guidance.

Scotiabank’s fieldwork with customers and partners reinforced its view of Datadog’s market position. The bank described Datadog as "the standard for monitoring the most modern, complex environments, with no signs of pricing pressure," countering some market concerns about competition from vendors such as Palo Alto Networks and Snowflake. The firm also characterized Datadog as "a port in a storm given AI disruption fears in other parts of software," based on its latest on-the-ground research.

Datadog has prompted a flurry of analyst attention recently, with several brokerages publishing bullish takes and updated forecasts. Guggenheim projects that Datadog’s fourth-quarter revenue growth will pick up to 29% year-over-year, and expects core revenue growth of 22% in that period. Stifel moved to upgrade Datadog to a Buy rating, citing an anticipated stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter showing and forecasting a revenue beat of more than 4%.

TD Cowen has adjusted its price target for Datadog to $200 while maintaining a Buy rating and forecasting fiscal 2026 revenue growth in the 19% to 20% range. Bernstein reiterated an Outperform rating and kept a $180 price target, naming Datadog as a top cloud-infrastructure idea for the first half of 2026 despite noting competitive questions and market speculation concerning potential M&A scenarios such as a GitLab acquisition.

Together, these notes reflect ongoing analyst interest and optimism about Datadog’s revenue trajectory and strategic positioning in cloud infrastructure and monitoring, even as price targets and near-term forecasts vary across firms.


Context and implications

Scotiabank’s reduction in its price target does not alter its positive stance on the company, but it does compress the upside implied by the bank’s new valuation. The differing forecasts and ratings from other firms underscore that while analysts see continued growth potential, they are using varied assumptions on near-term performance, competitive dynamics, and the contribution from large customers tied to AI deployments.

Risks

  • Management may guide revenue growth in the 17-18% range, which would be below Scotiabank’s ~23% 2026 projection - this variance affects market expectations and stock valuation. Impacted sectors: Software, Cloud services.
  • Competitive pressure from firms such as Palo Alto Networks and Snowflake is cited as a market concern despite Scotiabank’s fieldwork finding no pricing pressure; competitive dynamics could affect revenues and margins. Impacted sectors: Cybersecurity, Data platforms, Cloud infrastructure.
  • Significant revenue exposure to a single large customer relationship - Scotiabank estimates OpenAI contributes about $310 million in revenue run rate - creates concentration risk if spending patterns change. Impacted sectors: AI services, Cloud monitoring.

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