GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB) is one of Cathie Wood’s 10 stock picks with huge upside potential. GitLab (GTLB) Seen as Potential Buyout Candidate As Tech Valuations Reset On January 23, 2026, TipRanks reported that speculation around potential technology-sector consolidation is emerging. Citing Barron’s column by Jacob Sonenshine, the source cited a batch of software companies that could emerge as buyout candidates. With investors looking for opportunities to benefit from deal-related upside, GitLab Inc. (NA ...

In this piece, we will cover Cathie Wood’s 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential.In a CNBC Squawk Box Interview on January 16, 2026, Cathie Wood outlined her outlook for 2026, a year in which she sees a concentrated set of stocks with significant upside potential.The ARK Invest CEO looked back at 2025, discussing sharp volatility, trade turmoil in April, and the government shutdown. Despite macroeconomic headwinds, ARK Invest funds ranked among Morningstar’s top performers.The firm’s investment strategy ...

Core Viewpoint - GitLab's stock is expected to potentially break out in 2026, despite a significant decline in share price over the past two years, with a drop of over 10% in 2024 and an additional 33% in 2025 [1] Company Overview - GitLab operates a DevSecOps platform, transitioning towards an end-to-end software development life cycle (SDLC) platform that incorporates AI agents to assist developers throughout the software development process [2] - The company has a market capitalization of $6.0 billion, with a current stock price of $34.98, and a gross margin of 88.01% [2] Financial Performance - GitLab has experienced consistent revenue growth between 25% and 35% over the past two years, driven by both new customer acquisition and expansion among existing customers [4] - The company boasts a dollar-based net retention rate of 119% over the past 12 months, primarily due to seat expansion and upgrades to higher-tier services [4] Pricing Model and Revenue Generation - GitLab is shifting to a hybrid seat-plus-usage-based pricing model, which is expected to enhance average revenue per user (ARPU) [3] - The platform's value proposition is reinforced by its role as a secure repository for source code and data, which is critical in the context of AI development [5] Market Trends and Challenges - Concerns exist regarding the impact of AI on the demand for programmers, which some believe could negatively affect GitLab's business model [5] - However, the rise of AI is also leading to increased software creation, suggesting that GitLab may benefit from this trend as secure environments for code storage remain essential [6] Valuation and Investment Potential - GitLab's stock is currently trading at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of approximately 5.5 and a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24.5, indicating a potentially attractive valuation [7] - The overall sentiment suggests that AI presents more opportunities than risks for GitLab, positioning the stock for potential upside [7]

Core Viewpoint - GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB) is facing downgrades from multiple financial institutions due to concerns over growth potential and competition, particularly from AI startups, despite its position in the software industry [2][3][4]. Group 1: Downgrades and Price Objectives - Morgan Stanley downgraded GitLab from Overweight to Equal Weight, reducing its price target from $55 to $42, citing exaggerated concerns about competition and a transition year ahead [2]. - Barclays also downgraded GitLab from Equal Weight to Underweight, lowering its price target from $42 to $34, indicating expectations of slowed growth despite solid IT spending and low valuations [3]. Group 2: Market and Competitive Landscape - The company operates an advanced DevSecOps platform for software innovation, but there are concerns that AI stocks may offer better investment opportunities with less downside risk [4]. - The changing market dynamics and frequent management changes are complicating the establishment of GitLab's stock value [3].

Summary of Key Points from the Conference Call Industry Overview - The conference call focused on the software industry, particularly the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on software companies and their business models [1][2]. Core Insights and Arguments 1. **Reliance on Existing Software Vendors** Companies prefer to rely on existing software vendors for AI feature upgrades and are willing to pay for these enhancements. There is no plan to replace current vendors, and spending continues to grow during contract renewals [1][2]. 2. **Focus on Time to Market** Companies aim to concentrate internal development resources on revenue growth and core business rather than redeveloping third-party applications. This indicates a strategic shift towards leveraging existing solutions [1][2]. 3. **Outsourcing Development and Maintenance** Businesses are dismissing the idea of developing software in-house and prefer to outsource responsibilities and risks to third-party vendors. Developer headcount remains unchanged despite the growing reliance on external solutions [2]. 4. **AI Monetization** The call highlighted that many companies are successfully monetizing additional AI features through new contracts and product SKUs. This trend is seen as a legitimate business rationale for increased spending [2][3][4][5]. 5. **SaaS Pricing Dynamics** The SaaS sector is evolving, with AI transforming simple functionalities into high-value productivity engines, justifying significant price increases for software products. For instance, a user expressed willingness to pay 50% more for a service due to the exponential utility of AI-generated content [5][19]. 6. **Challenges in Data Management** The complexity of managing vast amounts of data across various systems poses significant challenges. Companies face issues related to data governance, privacy, and integration, making it impractical to switch from established products [6][7][8][9]. 7. **Emergence of Claude Code** The transition towards tools like Claude Code is noted, where AI is taking on more coding responsibilities, potentially accelerating development processes. However, there are concerns about the reliability and effectiveness of such tools in large enterprise environments [10][11][12][13]. Additional Important Insights - **Market Sentiment** The overall sentiment in the software industry is cautious, with a belief that market emotions may have been overstretched. The hype around AI tools like Claude Code is nearing its peak, indicating a potential shift in market dynamics [14][15]. - **Growth Expectations** A recent Morgan Stanley CIO survey indicates an increase in growth expectations for the software industry from 2.4% in 2025 to 3.8% in 2026, surpassing growth rates in hardware and communication services [18]. - **Skepticism on Price Compression** There is skepticism regarding significant price compression in the software industry, as low-cost software already exists, and SaaS pricing is generally low. R&D spending as a percentage of revenue for CRM companies is around 25%, indicating a balanced investment approach [19]. Investment Strategy - The software industry is viewed as a potential buy in the short to medium term, with a focus on identifying individual stocks that present investment opportunities. The market is expected to experience volatility, leading to increased differentiation in stock performance [20].

Core Viewpoint - Software stocks have been perceived as untouchable recently, but GitLab (GTLB) is recommended as a potential investment opportunity due to its undervaluation and growth potential [1]. Group 1: Company Analysis - GitLab is highlighted as a stock with strong growth prospects, supported by a solid balance sheet and effective management [1]. - The investment strategy focuses on identifying companies with long growth runways and a high probability of delivering significant alpha compared to the S&P 500 [1]. Group 2: Analyst's Approach - The analyst employs a combination of growth-oriented principles and strict valuation criteria to enhance the margin of safety in investment decisions [1]. - The investment group led by the analyst offers exclusive access to high-conviction stock picks, comprehensive research reports, real-time trade alerts, and macro market analysis [1].

Core Viewpoint - GitLab Inc. (GTLB) shares experienced a significant rally of 12.8%, closing at $37.4, driven by strong enterprise demand for its AI-native DevSecOps platform, despite a prior 11.6% loss over the past four weeks [1]. Company Summary - GitLab is expected to report quarterly earnings of $0.23 per share, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 30.3%, while revenues are projected to reach $251.41 million, an increase of 18.9% from the same quarter last year [1]. - The consensus EPS estimate for GitLab has remained unchanged over the last 30 days, indicating that stock price movements may not sustain without trends in earnings estimate revisions [3]. Industry Context - GitLab operates within the Zacks Internet - Software industry, where another company, Affirm Holdings (AFRM), saw a 1.5% increase in its stock price, closing at $72.84, but has returned -5.6% over the past month [3]. - Affirm Holdings' consensus EPS estimate has decreased by 8.7% over the past month to $0.28, which is a 21.7% increase compared to the previous year [4].

GitLab stock has crashed in the past few months, mirroring the performance of other software companies. GTLB stock dropped to the current $37, down by 50% from its highest level in 2025. ...

Gitlab seemed to lose the AI plot last year.Shares of GitLab (GTLB 3.22%), the cloud-based DevSecOps platform, struggled last year as a combination of slowing revenue growth, a high valuation, and concerns about lower customer retention weighed on the stock, and investors seemed to take a wait-and-see approach to its AI strategy.By the end of the year, the stock had fallen 33%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, a disappointing performance during a year in which tech stocks largely soare ...

Core Viewpoint - The software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector is experiencing significant turmoil due to fears of disruption from artificial intelligence (AI), but these fears may be exaggerated, presenting potential investment opportunities in select software stocks. Group 1: AppLovin - AppLovin has seen a stock price increase of 71% over the past year, yet it currently trades nearly 22% below its 52-week high [2][3] - The company is experiencing rapid revenue growth, particularly from its AI-powered Axon-2 adtech platform, which grew 68% year over year last quarter, enhancing gross margins and profitability [3] - Management plans to expand the platform beyond mobile gaming and introduce a self-serve ad manager, which are expected to be growth catalysts [3] Group 2: Salesforce - Salesforce aims to lead in agentic AI by launching Data Cloud (now Data 360) and acquiring Informatica, positioning itself as the master record of organizational data [4][5] - The stock has decreased by about 28% over the past year, attributed to concerns over slowing core growth and increased competition, making it relatively cheap with a forward P/S multiple below 5 and a forward P/E ratio of 18 [5] Group 3: Workday - Workday claims to have the "largest and cleanest" human resource and finance database, which is crucial in the AI era [6] - The company is introducing AI agents and tools for finance, legal, and HR, and has acquired Paradox to enhance its hiring process [7] - Workday's stock has fallen nearly 24% over the past year, but it is trading at a forward P/S ratio below 5 and a forward P/E of 18, indicating it is undervalued [7] Group 4: GitLab - GitLab operates a DevSecOps platform and has seen its stock decline about 45% over the past year due to fears that AI may reduce the need for coders [9] - Despite these concerns, the company has consistently grown its revenue by 25% or more, driven by an increasing enterprise customer count [10] - The launch of its Duo Agent solution and a new hybrid pricing model could serve as growth catalysts, with the stock trading at a forward P/S multiple under 5.5 [10] Group 5: UiPath - UiPath's stock has decreased about 24% from its 52-week high, but the company is transitioning to become an AI orchestration platform [11] - The Maestro platform is designed to manage AI agents and software bots, addressing the need for governance and compliance as AI agents proliferate [13] - The stock is attractively valued, with a forward P/S multiple below 5 and a forward P/E around 20 [14]