SoundHound AI (SOUN) had a strong Wednesday, climbing 12.6% in a single session after a rough start to 2026 that saw the stock drop 31% in Q1. The stock hit an intraday high of $7.94 before settling at $7.85, with over 41 million shares traded — well above the daily average.
The catalyst was a partnership announced April 9 with Associated Carrier Group, which plans to deploy SoundHound’s voice AI platform across a network of smaller telecom operators. The deal targets customer service modernization at mid-sized mobile carriers.
“Customer service and employee experience are two of the biggest opportunities telcos have when it comes to AI transformation,” said Patrick Caustrita, AVP of Enterprise Sales at SoundHound AI.
The announcement came alongside a wave of unusual options activity. Around 92,140 call contracts were purchased — about 50% above average daily call volume — pointing to aggressive bullish positioning ahead of upcoming earnings.
Short-squeeze chatter also circulated among traders, adding momentum fuel to an already active session.
SoundHound is pushing well beyond its consumer roots. Recent enterprise deployments include claims automation for Mexican insurer Quálitas and a voice assistant rollout at Peet’s Coffee, now live across core U.S. locations and expanding nationally.
As customer inquiries grew more complex, Quálitas upgraded to SoundHound’s agentic AI to resolve issues automatically and cut the need for human agents. The Peet’s deployment gives store employees real-time operational information via voice.
These moves reflect SoundHound’s broader strategy: embedding its technology into enterprise workflows across insurance, retail, and telecoms.
Last quarter, SoundHound posted revenue of $55.06 million, beating analyst estimates of $53.88 million and marking 59.4% growth year-over-year. EPS came in at -$0.02, in line with expectations.
Full-year 2025 revenue nearly doubled, reaching $169 million. Management has guided 2026 revenue between $225 million and $260 million, betting on enterprise agentic AI adoption to drive the next leg of growth.
For Q1 2026, analysts expect revenue of $42.8 million and a loss per share of $0.10.
The stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $14.93 — well above current levels. HC Wainwright has a Buy with a $20 target. Piper Sandler holds a Neutral with a $9 target.
Despite the rally, the stock remains below its 200-day moving average of $11.25 and trades at a P/E of -156.97. Insiders sold roughly 307,973 shares over the past 90 days, including CEO Keyvan Mohajer, who sold 124,510 shares at $6.79 on March 20.
SOUN traded over 5% higher in Thursday’s premarket session.
The post SoundHound AI (SOUN) Stock Jumps 13% on New Telecom Deal and Agentic AI Momentum appeared first on CoinCentral.
