Key Highlights Wedbush Securities increased WIX price target from $55 to $80 while maintaining Neutral rating Base1, Wix’s proprietary large language model, debuted in June 2026, with Base44
Shares of Wix.com (WIX) received positive momentum following Wedbush’s decision to elevate its price target to $80 from the previous $55 mark, driven by the company’s recent quarterly performance highlighting enhanced gross margins and sustained Partner Program expansion.
According to Wedbush analyst Ygal Arounian, the Base44 platform is on track to achieve non-GAAP gross margins near 60% during the latter half of 2026. This marks a substantial jump from margins hovering close to zero at the beginning of the year. The enhanced profitability is anticipated to contribute roughly 2 percentage points to overall consolidated non-GAAP gross margins when comparing 2H to 1H performance.
The company introduced Base1, its proprietary large language model, in June 2026. Company leadership indicated that substantial traffic volumes are now operating on non-frontier model infrastructure, delivering meaningful cost reductions.
While acknowledging the margin expansion, Wedbush maintained its Neutral stance on the equity. The investment firm upgraded its Q3 GAAP gross profit projection to $380M from $370M but made a modest reduction to its Q3 revenue forecast, lowering it to $567M from $569M.
Wix’s Partner Program recorded 17% year-over-year revenue expansion during Q2. This initiative caters to digital agencies and independent professionals, offering perks such as dedicated support channels, revenue-sharing arrangements, and client acquisition opportunities via the Wix Marketplace platform.
A segment of partners reduced their engagement with Wix throughout Q2, presumably shifting toward alternative vibe-coding platforms. However, numerous other partners ramped up their utilization of Base44, which helped balance out this migration.
Company management outlined plans to redirect the financial benefits achieved through non-frontier AI model deployment into bolstered sales and marketing initiatives. The strategic objective centers on capturing greater market demand for Base44 solutions.
Market sentiment strengthened after leadership elevated the full-year projections for both revenue and free cash flow, citing robust interest in artificial intelligence capabilities and the Wix Studio offering. The revised financial guidance triggered heightened trading volumes in the equity.
The company’s subscription-driven revenue framework provides a relatively stable cash flow foundation. This structure has enabled continued capital allocation toward artificial intelligence feature development and expanded business service offerings.
However, the organization faces challenges related to escalating debt obligations and a negative shareholders’ equity position. Should customer retention rates deteriorate or AI-related expenditures accelerate, the existing leverage could negatively impact profitability metrics.
WIX stock has declined 29% year to date, currently maintaining a market capitalization of $3.1 billion alongside average daily trading volume near 1.68 million shares.
Wedbush’s adjusted $80 price objective reflects the firm’s recalibrated perspective following second-quarter results and the enhanced margin trajectory ahead.
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