Upland Software : NASDAQ BUY  Target: US$15.00

UPLD : NASDAQ 

US$12.10 BUY 
Target: US$15.00 

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:
Upland Software is a software consolidator that provides
a suite of cloud-based applications for Enterprise
Workforce Management. The company was founded in
2010 as Silverback Acquisition Corporation and is
headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Technology — Enterprise Software — Software as a Service
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: ACT 2 OF A SUCCESSFUL TEAM, THIS TIME IN SOFTWARE; INITIATE AT BUY
Investment thesis
Upland is a software consolidator in the enterprise work management space
that looks to us to be sufficiently inexpensively valued that the stock has the
potential to be quite rewarding over the long term. We are initiating coverage
with a BUY rating and a $15.00 price target.
Investment highlights
 What they do. Upland provides a cloud-based work management software
platform that enables businesses to plan, manage and execute projects and
tasks. The suite of enterprise work management applications enables
companies to better optimize the allocation and utilization of their
workforce, time, and money. The firm has more than 1,200 customers of
varying sizes in 50 different countries.
 Growth via M&A, but this team has successfully run this playbook before.
CEO Jack McDonald and CFO Mike Hill have successfully executed the
consolidation strategy before as the executive team at Perficient (PRFT :
NASDAQ), an IT services firm. They have proven themselves to be
disciplined acquirers and have identified targets, this time in the software
market, that go largely unnoticed by other potential acquirers.
 Target market upgrading from legacy or siloed apps. Upland’s suite of
software products addresses a market that is currently dominated by
legacy system software and/or ad hoc spreadsheet-based processes. This
market is moving its processes to the cloud and Upland looks well
positioned to benefit from this upgrade cycle in years to come.
 UPLD shares are relatively inexpensive. The stock is currently valued at
2.3x EV/revenues based on our C2015 estimates, which is reasonably
inexpensive by most standards and a discount to our assembled comp set.
With disciplined M&A execution and moderate organic growth, there is a
legitimate case for multiple expansion in the future.

Autodesk BUY

ADSK :
Update
NASDAQ : US$58.41 BUY 
Target: US$70.00

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:
Autodesk is a global design software company that sells highfunction,
low-cost 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD)
applications. The firm also provides visualization and simulation
tools, which in conjunction with the company’s design apps,
enable customers to experience their ideas early in the design
process through the development and analysis of virtual
prototypes.
All amounts in US$ unless otherwise noted.

Technology — Enterprise Software — Applications
SETTING THE STAGE FOR A MULTI-YEAR TRANSITION TO SUBSCRIPTION WITH
ANOTHER SOLID PERFORMANCE
We have long argued that ADSK has the best, broadest suite of design, visualization,
simulation and collaboration tools of any firm in its space. The transition to subscription is
a means to help customers cost effectively access this suite with more alacrity than we’ve
seen in past years. This should put Autodesk in a very good position in 3-4 years. In the
short-run, the firm’s results were quite good. ADSK remains our favorite large cap GARP
stock. Reiterate BUY.
 Bullish items. Material billings upside with 25% growth in the quarter; all three major
geographies grew in the double digits on a constant currency basis; the number of
transactions >$1M grew by nearly 60% and the value of these deals increased over
200%; ADSK reported 121k net subscription additions (including 25k from Delcam),
well ahead of initial expectations, and increased guidance for this metric.
 Bearish items. Operating margins under near-term pressure driven by Delcam
dilution and higher incentive comp (driven by strong billings); strengthening dollar
will be a headwind to reported revenue growth; very limited visibility into the pace of
the perpetual license wind down, which will muddy consensus forecasts.
 The numbers: another good print. Autodesk reported Q3/15 revenue and non-GAAP
EPS of $618M and $0.25, which were respectively $17M and $0.02 ahead of our
estimates. Revenues were up 12% on a constant currency basis in the quarter and
non-GAAP operating margins were 13.0%. Calculated billings were $643M, which
was up 25% y-o-y and nicely ahead of our $539M estimate.
 Outlook:

Guidance for revenue, billings, and subscribers all inch higher. ADSK now
expects F2015 calculated billings to fall in the 15-17% growth range, which is well
ahead of the firm’s targeted 12% CAGR through F2018. We have adjusted down our
F2016 estimates as we are now forecasting the transition to subscription to have a
slightly more negative near-term impact on reported growth and profitability (which
we think could be even more pronounced in F2017 as the firm discontinues perpetual
licenses). We would remind investors that we will evaluate ADSK’s execution on
metrics like billings growth, subscriber count and cash flow during this transition.

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Splunk : Update Raising Target Price

SPLK : NASDAQ : US$64.94

BUY 
Target: US$80.00 

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:
Splunk software collects and indexes machine-generated big data
coming from the websites, applications, servers, and mobile
devices that power business. The firm’s software enables
organizations to monitor, search, analyze, visualize and act on
massive streams of real-time and historical machine data. Splunk
is headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in 2003 and has
been public since April, 2012.
All amounts in US$ unless otherwise noted.

Technology — Enterprise Software — Infrastructure

AS SOLID AS EXPECTED. MOMENTUM WARRANTS PREMIUM VALUATION.
It is quite clear to us that investors are shifting money back into business software and
that the investments are tightly targeted toward perceived quality names. We strongly
believe Splunk is one of the best-in-class systems software firms, and arguably one of the
most promising companies in the broader software space. Obviously, SPLK is expensive,
but in software stock investing, execution trumps valuation for long periods of time. We
expect to see SPLK shares higher in three months, six months and a year. BUY.
 Bullish items. A larger revenue upside than last quarter. Product and use case
momentum. Major wins in Public Sector, Sporting Goods, Healthcare, Education and
Telco. Broader use cases for stream wire data. Sales restructuring by functionality
generated strong wins in security. Real-time data and analytics now deployed in
sports stadiums.
 Bearish items. Frankly, not much. We would like to see continued progress toward
the high end of 25-35% ratable revenues as a percentage of total revenues.
Operating margins were guided to be roughly flat next year, although we believe
there is upside to margin assumptions if revenues upside a bit. Finally, the obvious –
SPLK is highly valued at 13x and 10x our C2015 and C2016E EV/revenues.
 Sales excellence. The call had a large focus on continued strong sales performance
with 500+ new customers added, 290 orders above $100k, positive data points from
the segment-focused model, more than 70% of bookings from existing customers,
2/3rds of upsells from horizontal expansion and the largest ever transaction for
cloud (7 figures). The list goes on, but ultimately shows how SPLK’s sales organization is firing on all cylinders and a major reason for the company’s growth.

 Guidance update to bring positive revisions. Management increased revenue
guidance for the full year by $13.5M at the midpoint, mostly reflecting the $10M
beat in Q3. Operating margin guidance at 1-2% for the full year was increased from
1%. The company also released initial F2016 guidance for revenue of $575M. While
possibly still conservative, implying 31% growth over F2015 guidance, it was above
both our estimate and consensus, which should bring about positive revisions to
forecasts.

We raised our F2016 revenue estimate by $21.5M to $580M

Five9

: NASDAQ : US$4.45
BUY FINV
Target: US$7.00

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:
Five9 provides cloud-based software solutions for contact
centers. The company’s solutions help call centers
improve business dexterity and reduces the complexity of
contact center operations, while also significantly
reducing costs for the firm. The suite of applications
enables a firm to provide a breadth of call center
functions, including inbound, outbound, and blended
solutions. Five9 was founded in 2001 and is
headquartered in San Ramon.
All amounts in US$ unless otherwise noted.

Technology — Enterprise Software– Software as a Service
A SOLID QUARTER; SUFFICIENTLY INEXPENSIVE TO KEEP A BUY RATING
Investment thesis
Following a June quarter earnings shortfall due to the drop-off of call volumes as
scheduled Obamacare signups ceased, Five9 had something to prove to investors.
The firm took the first step of what we hope is many more consistent “meet or beat”
quarters needed to give investors confidence about future execution. At this
juncture, with a modicum of execution, we believe FIVN shares should provide
above-market returns. We have retained our Buy rating.
 A good bounce-back –upside across the board. FIVN reported Q3/14 revenues
and Adjusted EBITDA of $25.9M and loss of ($5.0M), which were respectively
$1.4M and $2.6M ahead of our estimates. Revenue growth was 23% in the
quarter, despite headwinds of the healthcare segment slowdown noted last
quarter, and FCF losses of ($7.9M) were $4.4M ahead of our estimate.
 Enterprise bookings remain healthy. Five9 had another record bookings
growth quarter; management suggested that Enterprise bookings have
advanced in-step with sale rep hiring that has paced in the 30-40% growth
range (SMB hiring has been closer to 10%). This quarter was highlighted by a
several hundred seat replacement of Avaya/Cisco/Aspect at a large pharma
company, a senior living referral placement service with ~400 agents, and a
nationwide energy company that came in through the Salesforce.com channel.
Dollar-based retention was 97% in the quarter, which is consistent with C2013
levels and down marginally from 98% in Q2/14.
 Outlook: a slight increase,

Q4 should be a bottom in growth. FIVN laps a
difficult Q4 compare against a 2013 period that saw heavy ACA call volumes,
but the December quarter should mark a bottom in growth declines at ~15%,
according to our estimates. We have slightly increased our C2015 projections
and are forecasting 20% revenue growth and more than 500 bps of EBITDA
margin expansion (~19% EBITDA margin losses). We believe there remains an
upward bias to our current growth assumptions.

Service Now BUY

NOW : NYSE : US$58.07
BUY 
Target: US$72.00 

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:
ServiceNow is a leading provider of cloud-based services
that automate enterprise IT operations — this includes a
suite of applications built on the firm’s proprietary
platform that automates workflow and provides
integration between related business processes.
ServiceNow was founded in 2004, is headquartered in
San Diego, CA and has been public since June 2012.

Technology — Enterprise Software — Infrastructure
PREMIUM EXECUTION FROM A PREMIUM COMPANY; REITERATE BUY
Investment thesis
Whether we get a Q4 software rally or not, we continue to believe that the first place
investors will look is going to be open-ended, leading growth firms in relatively
uncrowded segments. This describes ServiceNow. While more than 9x revenues on
2015E is at the high end of where we like to recommend the most premium growth
names, we believe NOW warrants the premium. Indeed, even with a likely
degradation of the multiple, we believe this stock should easily generate more than
20% upside over the coming 12 months. Reiterate BUY.

No surprises here, another upside quarter. NOW reported strong Q3/14 results
with revenue of $178.7M (+61% y-o-y) and operating income of $10.2M, which
were respectively $3.7M and $8.0M ahead of our estimates
Calculated billings of $200.7M (+ 58% y-o-y) were $2.3M better than our Street-high
forecast and well ahead of management’s $190-193M guidance.
 Customer metrics. Average revenue per user was $275K, up 21%

Outlook: momentum continues,

 

inching forecasts higher again. NOW’s Q4/14
guidance set expected revenues roughly $1.5M ahead of our previous estimate
(despite a $4M FX headwind) and calculated billings ~$10M ahead. Our revised
Q4/14 revenue and billings estimates imply respective y-o-y growth of 55% and
50%. We have similarly increased our C2015 revenue and FCF estimates by
$7M and $25M to $940M (+39%) and $127M, or $0.74 per share

Apple is wholly unoriginal … and that’s okay ? Here Comes Sam(sung)

Apple is set to announce a handful of new products next week that you’ve already seen elsewhere. But when it comes to Apple, that’s not a problem.

Whether it’s larger phones, a smartwatch or a new mobile payments system — all of which are rumored to be announced next week — Apple will be following the lead of other companies that already have products on the market. That’s prompting renewed criticism that the company has lost its ability to innovate following the death of former CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs.

But even if Apple isn’t the first company to make these products, its track record indicates that it still has the opportunity to reap gains by executing them better than the competition.
“Apple is not usually first to market — they typically make an existing product much better and more usable,” said Amit Daryanani, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets.

Apple is widely expected to unveil a pair of larger iPhones next week measuring 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, up from four inches on the iPhone 5S.
Those larger phones will finally give Apple (AAPL, Tech30) some entries into the “phablet” market. That product category has been led in recent years by rival Samsung.
For Apple, the larger phones are low-hanging fruit. Customers spent over $10 billion in the company’s App Store last year, the bulk of that going to gaming apps. Bigger screens and faster processors on the new iPhones will make those games even more compelling.
As for smartwatches, Apple will be following on the heels of devices from companies like Samsung, LG and Motorola that sync with smartphones and offer features like directions and fitness tracking.
But the recent crop of smartwatches have underwhelmed reviewers and failed to present a compelling reason why they’re more convenient than simply taking your phone out of your pocket. If Apple can find a way to improve on those models — perhaps with more sophisticated health tracking or location awareness — consumers may finally have a reason to ditch their old Timexes en masse.
The opportunity is even bigger in mobile payments, where smartphone-based systems like Isis and Google (GOOGL, Tech30) Wallet have been around for years without catching on.

Apple has reportedly been working with major credit-card companies on an iPhone-based payment system. The company already has more than 800 million credit cards on file thanks to iTunes and App Store accounts, according to some estimates, giving it a massive ready customer base.
Add to that the security of the iPhone’s fingerprint identification system and Apple could finally push merchants and consumers to ditch plastic and move to smartphone-based transactions.
“To say that Apple is coming out with a product that already exists ignores the fact that there were MP3 players before the iPod and smartphones before the iPhone,” said Walter Piecyk, an analyst with BTIG. “Those products defined their categories

Having trouble with your iPhone 5 battery? You might be eligible for a free replacement.
Apple (AAPL, Tech30) said “a very small percentage” of iPhone 5 smartphones may “suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently.”

Don’t get too excited just yet. After a year or two, everyone’s iPhone battery seems to carry less juice than it once did. But Apple’s repair program is limited to certain customers in the United States and China.
Only iPhone 5 smartphones sold between September 2012 and January 2013 are eligible, and only those that fall within a certain range of serial numbers. Apple has opened a website that allows people to determine whether their phones are eligible. (To access your serial number, tap Settings > General > About > Serial Number).

Investors curbed their bets on Apple on Wednesday.

One possible reason: They got a reminder that the company won’t have a free run at the market this fall even with the release of the hotly anticipated iPhone 6 and supposed iWatch.

Apple’s shares fell 4.2%, having hit an all-time closing high of $103.30 on Tuesday. The drop coincided with rival Samsung’s event at the IFA show in Germany, where it previewed new versions of its Galaxy

Apple Inc. (AAPL)-Nasdaq
Prev Close: 103.30
Open: 103.20
Bid: 98.79 x 100
Ask: 98.82 x 100
1y Target Est: 106.83
Beta: 0.83
Earnings Date: Oct 27 – Oct 31 (Est.)
Day’s Range: 98.58 – 103.20
52wk Range: 63.89 – 103.74
Volume: 125,424,577
Avg Vol (3m): 49,884,300
Market Cap: 592.44B
P/E (ttm): 16.60
EPS (ttm): 5.96
Div & Yield: 1.88 (2.00%

iShares SouthKorea ETF (EWY : NYSE : US$65.27), Net Change: -0.13, % Change: -0.20%, Volume: 1,332,424
Arms race?

Samsung unveiled new versions of its Galaxy Note smartphone on Wednesday, featuring a crisper, 5.7-inch display edition version of the Note with a curved edge screen on one of the phone’s sides, helping users to stay focused on their main screen without having to respond to calendar reminders or incoming emails.

It also demonstrated a Virtual Reality headset that on version of the Note with a curved edge screen on one of the phone’s sides, helping users to stay focused on their main screen without having to respond to calendar reminders or incoming emails.

. The launch comes just less than a week before Apple’s September 9 event where Apple is expected to roll out a 4.7- and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 as well as a possible iWatch device. Last week, Samsung said it would begin selling a stand-alone wristwatch, the Samsung Gear S, which will be able to make and receive calls without having to be tethered to a smartphone. Apple is also expected to join forces with credit card companies to provide a mobile payment option for the iPhone 6 and iOS 8.

Workday Raising Target Price to $110

WDAY : NYSE : US$90.30
BUY
Target: US$110.00

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:
Workday provides enterprise-scale, cloud applications
that deliver the core functions for global customers to
manage the human capital and financial resources of an
organization. Solutions include: HCM, Financial
Management, Payroll, Time Tracking, Procurement,
Employee Expense Management, etc. Workday was
founded by the former founders of PeopleSoft in 2005
and is headquartered in Pleasanton, CA.

Technology — Enterprise Software — Software as a Service
THE MOMENTUM CONTINUES: ANOTHER EXCELLENT QUARTER
The obvious comment is that Workday’s EV/revenue multiple is high. What is less
obvious is that the likely decay of this multiple to a more reasonable, 6-8x forward
estimates could take longer to reach than expected. The combination of marquee
customer wins in HCM (like BofA in the quarter), new referenceable logos for
Financials, and success with the firm’s Analytics add-on could keep revenue growth
faster for longer than expected. Our only small nit is that we would like to see a
continuation of profit upsides from this management team so that they can
demonstrate that they deserve to be compared to Salesforce.com, which was more
profitable at WDAY’s current revenue level. We believe investors should own at least
a partial position in this industry-altering firm in any growth-oriented portfolio.
 Another meaningful upside. Workday reported Q2/15 revenues, calculated
billings, and FCF loss of $186.8M (+74% y-o-y), $206.3M (+56% y-o-y) and
$37.4M, which were respectively $9.8M, $21.3M, and $35.0M ahead of our
estimates. Subscription revenues grew 77% y-o-y, and non-GAAP EPS loss of
($0.11) was $0.04 better than our forecast.
 Color from the call. After bringing HP, the firm’s largest customer to date, live in
Q1, WDAY announced that it signed an HCM deal with Bank of America and its
300k employees in Q2, now making that firm its largest customer. WDAY ended
the quarter with >700 HCM customers and nearly 100 Financials customers.
While the firm saw strength across the board, management noted particularly
strong results in Europe and within Financial Services, including two Fortune
500 deals in that sector. Lastly, WDAY’s services ecosystem continues to grow
nicely, with both HP and CSC announcing plans to build deployment practices.
 Guidance increased again. WDAY guided Q3/15 estimates above the Street and
increased F2015 revenue targets by ~$25M. F2015 bookings growth is expected
to be roughly 60% and non-GAAP operating losses were trimmed to the high
single digits. Longer-term, management did note that the firm does not expect to
be non-GAAP profitable in F2016, which shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Salesforce.com

CRM : NYSE : US$52.89

BUY 
Target: US$65.00

Technology — Enterprise Software — Software as a Service
SOLID QUARTER. LIKELY 1ST RECIPIENT OF INCREMENTAL INVESTMENT ONCE THIS CORRECTION RUNS ITS COURSE.
Investment thesis
We would build or expand positions in CRM shares because we believe this firm
has the highest quality franchise among cloud software firms we follow.
Meanwhile the stock’s valuation looks reasonable at 35x 2015E EV/FCF for a
25-30% grower.
Investment highlights
 Salesforce posts another upside quarter. CRM reported Q1/15 revenues and
non-GAAP EPS of $1.227B and $0.11, which were respectively $17M and a
penny ahead of our estimates. Revenues grew 37% in the quarter, and
calculated billings of $1.03B were nicely ahead of our $995M estimate and
up 35% compared to a year ago. Total backlog (billed and unbilled) ended
the quarter at $7.1B, which is up 34% versus Q1/14. Lastly, CRM generated
FCF of $413M (+80% y-o-y), or $0.64 per share, which was well ahead of
our $0.49 estimate in the firm’s seasonally strong cash collection period.
 Outlook: F2015 ranges increased again. CRM increased its F2015 revenue
and non-GAAP EPS outlook by ~$50M and a penny. The firm expects to
deliver 125-150 bps of operating leverage (to somewhere in the 10-11%
range) and deliver operating cash flow growth in the mid-20% range. Our
new F2015 revenue and FCF estimates of $5.3B and $802M are up roughly
$55M and $30M respectively and imply 31% growth and 15% FCF margin.
Valuation and price target
We are slightly lowering our CRM price target to reflect the broader valuation
correction in cloud software. Our new $65 target is based on a 6.3x EV/revenue
multiple and 40x EV/FCF based on our F2016/C2015 estimates plus roughly
$1.2B in prospective net cash and assuming ~650M shares outstanding

 

Benefitfocus

BNFT 

NASDAQ : US$68.44 
BUY  Target: US$84.00

COMPANY DESCRIPTION: Benefitfocus sells a cloud-based benefits software platform for large employers and insurance carriers. The firm’s suite of solutions enables customers to more efficiently shop, enroll, manage, and exchange benefits information. Based in Charleston, SC, Benefitfocus was founded in 2000 and went public in September, 2013.
All amounts in US$ unless otherwise noted.
Technology — Enterprise Software — Software as a Service AN UPSIDE QUARTER; 2014 WILL BE RIGHTLY HEAVY ON INVESTMENT IN LIGHT OF OPPORTUNTIY; REITERATE BUY
A favorable mix shift towards the faster growing Employer business and an uptick in demand from Carriers around private exchanges could enable BNFT’s revenue growth rate to accelerate by a couple hundred basis points in each of the next 2-3 years. If we are correct, the natural, and eventual compression of the firm’s EV/revenue multiple of 12x 2014E will be both gradual and more than offset by high-20’s organic revenue growth. We continue to expect BNFT’s stock to advance faster than the overall stock market. Reiterate BUY.
 Preliminary Q4/13 results ahead of expectations. BNFT expects to report Q4 total revenue and Adjusted EBITDA loss of $30.3M and ($7.9M), which were respectively $1.8M and $0.4 better than our forecasts. Total revenues increased 36% y-o-y, and within the mix, Employer revenues increased 80% y-o-y and now make up 44% of revenue.
 Color on deal flow. BNFT added 14 new employer customers in the quarter, bringing the firm’s total to 393, up from 286 a year ago – we’d remind investors that the second and third quarters tend to be seasonally stronger as a result of the timing of open enrollment season. The firm saw particular strength with Carriers, adding 3 new accounts in the quarter, as those firms look to setup private exchanges. Q4 was a company record in terms of customer “go-lives.”
 C2014 investment initiatives. Management highlighted three areas of focus: (1) an increase in sales capacity to really put the foot on the gas in the hot Employer market; (2) an incremental $10M investment in their private exchange efforts for Carriers and brokers; and (3) the build out of a third-party channel for implementation services – the firm is already in discussions with multiple potential partners. The result of the initiatives will be a roughly $20M larger EBITDA loss in C2014 than we had previously forecast. As we are undoubtedly in the very early stages of this opportunity, we believe this is a logical strategy. Our C2014 and C2105 revenue estimates increase by $2.5M and $4.0MTechnology