Submitted by Mark Hanna
Courtesy of MarketMontage. View original post here.
Even after all these years I remain in awe at how powerful analyst calls are over stocks – seeing multi billion companies sway 5-7%+ due to one singular person opining boggles me, but I suppose it’s part of the herd mentality. This morning “the firm” (go muppets) upgraded LinkedIn (LNKD) with a huge price target increase. It is interesting timing as the stock broke down below recent support yesterday morning – nicely cleaning out tight stop losses – before reversing strongly into the close in late afternoon trading. In retrospect it is easy to see why… or more important “whom”… that happened. Ah, Wall Street…
Technically this has been one volatile stock since IPO, as the very low float game helped it soar at first, before a huge pullback. The stock is up over $97 in premarket which takes it over the recent highs around $95.
Via StreetInsider:
- Goldman Sachs upgraded LinkedIn from Neutral to Buy and raised their price target from $80 to $135, suggesting 47% upside. The firm said they believe growth in the core hiring solutions and marketing services is likely to be higher than the market expects.
- Checks showed increasing traction for hiring solutions and better user engagement. This along with emerging products, “suggest a steeper slope to the company’s long-term growth,” the firm said.
- On a macro level, Goldman said LinkedIn is best positioned to benefit from growth in mobile usage given its reliance on subscriptions versus advertising.
- Goldman raised 2012 revenue and pro forma EPS estimates from $846 mn/$0.44 to $875 mn/$0.68. 2013 estimates go from $1,288 mn/$1.02 to $1,382 mn/$1.08. 2014 estimates go from $1,712 mn/$1.66 to $1,915 mn/$1.87.
Disclosure Notice
Any securities mentioned on this page are not held by the author in his personal portfolio. Securities mentioned may or may not be held by the author in the mutual fund he manages, the Paladin Long Short Fund (PALFX). For a list of the aforementioned fund’s holdings at the end of the prior quarter, visit the Paladin Funds website at http://www.paladinfunds.com/holdings/blog
