DigitalOcean Soars as 'Clawdbot' AI Assistant Drives Analyst Optimism and Price Target Hikes
DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DOCN) is riding a wave of renewed Wall Street optimism, fueled by the surging popularity of AI agents built on its cloud platform. The latest vote of confidence came from Bank of America, which significantly raised its price target on the stock, pointing directly to the viral traction of "Clawdbot"—an autonomous AI assistant developed on DigitalOcean's infrastructure—as a key growth catalyst.
On January 27, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan boosted the firm's price target on DigitalOcean to $72 from $60, maintaining a Buy rating. In his note, Mohan highlighted that shares were appreciating as "agentic AI" assistants, exemplified by Clawdbot, gain rapid adoption within developer circles. "We are raising our multiple to reflect the early innings of agentic AI adoption and broadening use cases," Mohan stated. He positioned DigitalOcean as a primary beneficiary of early-stage AI agent deployments, where developers seek reliable, always-on servers with predictable pricing—a core offering of the company's cloud platform.
This upgrade follows a broader trend of analyst reassessments. Earlier in January, Barclays lifted its target to $63 from $49 with an Overweight rating, aligning the move with a favorable 2026 outlook for software stocks amid stable IT spending. Similarly, Piper Sandler adjusted its target upward to $50 from $47, though it maintained a Neutral stance, citing limited visibility into long-term growth metrics despite encouraging deal momentum.
The focus on Clawdbot underscores a strategic shift. Agentic AI, where systems can autonomously execute complex tasks, is moving from research labs into practical developer toolkits. DigitalOcean's simplified cloud model appears to be capturing demand from indie developers and startups racing to build and deploy such agents, potentially carving a niche against larger hyperscale cloud providers.
Market Voices:
"This isn't just about one bot," says Marcus Chen, a cloud infrastructure portfolio manager at Horizon Ventures. "It's a validation of DigitalOcean's product-market fit for the next wave of AI development. They offer the agility and cost clarity that early-stage AI projects desperately need."
"Let's not get carried away," counters Rebecca Shaw, an independent tech analyst known for her skeptical takes. "A single viral project doesn't fix fundamental scale challenges. They're still a minnow in an ocean of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. This hype feels reminiscent of the crypto-driven surges we saw—and then corrected."
"As a developer who built a prototype on DigitalOcean last month, the appeal is real," shares David Park, founder of a small AI tools startup. "The setup was straightforward, and the cost predictability is a lifesaver for bootstrapped projects like Clawdbot. This analyst move just confirms what's happening on the ground."
DigitalOcean operates a global cloud computing platform targeting developers, startups, and small-to-midsize businesses. The recent analyst actions suggest the market is beginning to price in its potential role not just as a general-purpose cloud, but as a tailored infrastructure partner for the emerging agentic AI economy.