Ladenburg Thalmann upgraded SoundHound AI to Buy from Neutral and lifted its price target to $16 from $9, pointing to what it called strong second-quarter results, accelerating sales growth and momentum for the company’s voice-enabled artificial-intelligence platform. The brokerage said SoundHound’s recently announced partnership with conversational-AI firm Amelia could further expand market reach, even though integration work remains. The endorsement sent SoundHound shares up 15.54% to $15.65 on Monday, valuing the Santa Clara-based company at roughly $5.44 billion. Options activity also picked up, with volume doubling and a put-to-call ratio of 0.37; implied volatility rose modestly to 92.07, suggesting traders are positioning for additional upside. Ladenburg’s move adds to generally bullish coverage. H.C. Wainwright reiterated its Buy rating after SoundHound’s revenue jumped 217% year on year in the second quarter and management raised its full-year forecast. The consensus view on the stock stands at Moderate Buy, with price targets as high as $15 prior to today’s revision.