Dell Technologies (DELL) is one of the best-performing tech stocks in 2024, boasting a total return (price change plus dividends) of nearly 74% for the year to date through the June 12 close. This upside hasn't gone unnoticed by Wall Street pros and one group in particular thinks DELL can rally another 30% from here.
In late May, BofA Securities upped its price target on Dell stock to $180 from $130, citing strong momentum into 2025 on improving demand for the company's artificial intelligence (AI) servers and high-end storage, as well as a recovery in personal computers (PCs). BofA reiterated its price target and its Buy rating on Dell in a June 13 note.
"We see the setup into 2025 as attractive as all areas of DELL's business could be strong in unison," BofA analysts wrote in a note to clients. "We expect positive revenue and earnings per share revisions driven by the potential of strong growth in AI servers, upside from PCs and from a refreshed storage portfolio plus attach of high margin storage to a new IBM Mainframe in 2025."
BofA's $180 price target for the tech stock represents implied upside of just over 33% to current levels.
Most analysts think Dell stock is a Buy
BofA isn't the only firm with a bullish view on the outperforming AI stock. Of the 23 analysts following Dell tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 13 say it's a Strong Buy, six call it a Buy, two have it at Hold and two say it's a Sell or Strong Sell. This works out to a consensus Buy recommendation.
Argus Research and CFRA Research are among those with Buy ratings on Dell and price targets of $150 and $176, respectively.
"Following a down year in fiscal 2024, Dell appears well-positioned for growth and margin expansion as markets normalize over the course of the January 2025 fiscal year," Argus Research analysts Jim Kelleher and Andrew Lesko wrote in a June 4 note. "For the longer term, and particularly as the AI server and AI PC markets gain momentum, we believe Dell is poised for outperformance and continued share gains."
"The commercial PC environment showed improvement exiting the quarter, reinforcing our bullish thesis around the coming multi-year refresh cycle catalyzed by Windows 11 migration and AI's transformative impact," CFRA Research analyst Shreya Gheewala said in a May 31 note following Dell's Q1 earnings beat.
