Latest news with #GabrielaBorges
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Clearwater Analytics Gains As Investors Eye Growth Beyond Acquisition Jitters
Clearwater Analytics Holdings (NYSE:CWAN) shares climbed Tuesday as investors looked past recent acquisition concerns, betting on sustained double-digit growth and fresh product rollouts to drive long-term momentum. Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges upgraded Clearwater Analytics Holdings (NYSE:CWAN) rating to Buy from Neutral with a price forecast of $27 on Monday. Borges said the stock's 30% drop over the past six months, compared with a 9% Nasdaq gain, reflects investor concerns over the quality of acquired assets and Clearwater's ability to integrate multiple acquisitions argued those risks are now priced in and sees a clear catalyst path, including the September 3 Analyst Day. Borges expects Clearwater's core business to sustain 20%-plus annual growth over the next three to five years, driven by its automation platform, strong network effects, and cross-sell opportunities. She said Clearwater's net revenue retention (NRR) is already improving, with potential upside from cross-sell as the company releases about five new products annually, targeting growth in alternative investments through partnerships with Blackstone (NYSE:BX) and PIMCO. She added that macro tailwinds could further boost results. Goldman projects three consecutive 25-basis-point rate cuts starting in September, which would lift fixed-income asset prices, about 80% of Clearwater's client AUM, and support revenue through its AUM-linked pricing model. Increased capital market activity and IPO volume could also add one to two percentage points of growth in the corporate segment, which accounts for about 16% of revenue. Borges acknowledged investor concerns about acquisition execution, citing mixed results with past deals and the challenge of integrating Enfusion, representing about 13% of run-rate sales. Still, she forecasts Enfusion's growth improving from 13% to 15% by 2027, short of management's 20% target, but believes Clearwater can still achieve total business growth of 19%. She noted Enfusion's recent momentum, including a record-high bookings quarter and 49 new client wins in the second quarter. Longer term, Borges is constructive on Clearwater's plan to build an end-to-end platform with a single security master and data plane for institutional investors, capable of providing a complete, real-time portfolio view across public and private markets. She believes the market underestimates the combined platform's ability to reach a Rule of 40 profile, even before the vision is fully realized. Price Action: CWAN shares traded higher by 3.55% to $19.11 at last check Tuesday. Photo via Shutterstock Latest Ratings for CWAN Date Firm Action From To Mar 2022 Morgan Stanley Maintains Equal-Weight Mar 2022 Credit Suisse Maintains Outperform Mar 2022 RBC Capital Maintains Outperform View More Analyst Ratings for CWAN View the Latest Analyst Ratings UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Clearwater Analytics Gains As Investors Eye Growth Beyond Acquisition Jitters originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
CNBC
7 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Goldman Sachs upgrades this software provider ahead of Sept. investor day
Shares of Clearwater Analytics are poised for a comeback, helped by free cash flow in the core business that's growing by more than 02% annually and a planned conference with investors set for early Sept., according to Goldman Sachs. The Wall Street investment bank upgraded Boise, Idaho-based Clearwater to buy from neutral but kept its price target at $27, implying more than 46% upside from Monday's close. Clearwater, a provider of investment portfolio accounting and other business tools, has tumbled 33% so far in 2025. Much of the decline was caused concerns tied to the quality of Clearwater's acquired assets, including Enfusion, and its progress on integration its businesses, Goldman analysts led by Gabriela Borges wrote. "If we subtract Enfusion from Clearwater's enterprise value, the stock now implies that the core business is trading at ~31x [free cash flow], despite consistently growing at over 20% and still having a multi-year runway of share gains ahead," the analyst wrote in a note this week. "We believe that execution risk tied to the acquisitions is now more than priced in, and we see a positive catalyst path for the stock from here, including at the September 3 Analyst Day." CWAN 6M mountain CWAN, 6-month Borges expects momentum in Clearwater's core business to drive 20% growth over the next three to five years. "We believe that Clearwater's cloud-native solution will continue to win against a mix of legacy solutions and more specialized point products," the analyst wrote. Every Wall Street analyst who covers Clearwater rates it a buy, according to FactSet data, and the consensus price target of a little more than $31 implies 70% upside in the stock. Shares jumped nearly 6% premarket Tuesday in reaction to the Goldman upgrade. Goldman led Clearwater's original initial public offering in Sept. 2021 at $18 a share.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Palo Alto (PANW) Gets Price Target Boost, Goldman Sachs Stays Bullish
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) stands against other AI stocks on analysts' radar. The recently imposed US sanctions on chip use have angered China. In recent news, the country has stated that it may take legal action against any individual or organization who are found assisting or implementing U.S. measures that advise companies against using their advanced semiconductors. According to the U.S. published guidance, companies risk violating export controls if found using Ascend AI chips from Shenzhen-based Huawei. In response, China's commerce ministry said there could be 'corresponding legal liabilities' against those involved in implementing U.S. measures and that it constitutes 'discriminatory restrictive measures' against Chinese firms. READ ALSO: and . The sanctions are seemingly a new strategy adopted by the US to curb China's progress in the AI arms race. The world is yet to watch the success of this strategy as opposed to the AI diffusion rule imposed earlier, which the world came to know had failed miserably after the arrival of DeepSeek. Even Jensen Huang has deemed the AI diffusion rule to be a failure. 'All in all, the export control was a failure. The fundamental assumptions that led to the AI diffusion rule in the beginning, in the first place, has been proven to be fundamentally flawed.' In fact, the sales block advanced AI chips to China, forcing companies to buy semiconductors from Chinese designers. It also pushed the country to invest aggressively in a robust supply chain that doesn't rely on manufacturers outside the country. For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds. The hedge fund data is as of Q4 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A cutting-edge computer lab full of IT experts monitoring the security of multiple Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a leader in AI-powered cybersecurity. One of the most notable analyst calls on Wednesday, May 21, is for Palo Alto Networks. Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges raised the price target on the stock to $231.00 (from $215.00) while maintaining a 'Buy' rating. Analyst Gabriela Borges expressed optimism about the company's strategic positioning in the industry. The analyst noted Palo Alto's mixed performance over the quarters due to industry spending normalization, increased cloud competition, and changes in the company's business model. Despite these factors, the company is recognized to be in a good position to lead strategic enterprise security discussions and consolidate spending in the medium term, alongside Crowdstrike and Microsoft. Borges also noted that the field of next-generation AI security vendors will likely undergo consolidation over time, and that Palo Alto is likely to benefit from this. 'We maintain a Buy rating on the stock. Fundamentals have been mixed over the past 4+ quarters, in our view due to industry normalization in network security industry spending, competition in cloud, and moving pieces to the model (such as the mix of financing deals). However, we continue to view Palo Alto as one of only three companies well positioned to have strategic enterprise security conversations to consolidate spend over the medium term, with CrowdStrike and Microsoft the other two. While we expect to see a number of next-gen vendors in AI security, we ultimately believe that this field will consolidate over time in favor of leaders such as Palo Alto, that have the ability and willingness to invest in technology leadership, outsource R&D via M&A, and realize attractive unit economics from cross sell.' Overall, PANW ranks 9th on our list of AI stocks on analysts' radar. While we acknowledge the potential of PANW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PANW and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
06-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Analysts call for big declines in Palantir despite solid earnings; Goldman sees more than 25% drop
Many analysts on Wall Street still not sold on Palantir even after the company posted first-quarter results and raised its full-year guidance. The firm reported in-line earnings and topped revenue estimates in the first quarter and upped its full-year outlook. CEO Alex Karp told investors on the company's earnings call that Palantir is in the "middle of a tectonic shift in the adoption" for its software, especially in its government segment. But while a few analysts raised their price targets on the stock following the results, many maintained hold or sell-equivalent ratings as concerns remain that Palantir may be overvalued. Among these are Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Goldman sees more than 27% downside, while Morgan Stanley calls for a nearly 21% decline. Shares were down 8% in the premarket. That said they are up more than 63% year to date. PLTR YTD mountain Palantir stock in 2025. Some shops, such as Loop Capital and Wedbush, had a more constructive outlook on the stock following the report. They reiterated their buy-equivalent ratings and bumped higher their price targets. Here's a look at some of the takeaways from Wall Street analysts. Goldman Sachs: maintains neutral rating, raises price target to $90 from $80 Analyst Gabriela Borges's new price target still signals downside of 27%. "We continue to view Palantir as well positioned to continue to deliver best-in-class growth given the secular trend towards enterprise AI adoption; the continued push for efficiency and technology adoption in the US government; and adoption of Operation Warp Speed among new defense entrants, traditional defense companies, and the broader manufacturing industry." Cantor Fitzgerald: raises price target to $110 from $98 but keeps neutral rating Cantor's new target calls for roughly 11% downside from Monday's $123.77 close. "Palantir's strong results indicate continued strong investment from global organizations in leveraging AI to improve both business outcomes and operational efficiencies," analyst Thomas Blakey wrote on Tuesday. "The company is well positioned to benefit from these trends, in our view, supporting continued dynamic growth." Morgan Stanley: raises price target to $98 from $90, maintains equal weight rating Analyst Sanjit Singh's forecast implies nearly 21% downside for Palantir stock. The analyst said his fundamental view on Palantir remained unchanged following first-quarter results. "[We're] raising target to $98 but valuation [is] too expensive to underwrite a reasonable return at ~95x CY27 FCF keeping us EW as we await a better entry point," he said. Mizuho: underperform rating, increases price target to $94 from $80 Analyst Gregg Moskowitz's outlook implies more than 24% downside for Palantir. "We remain quite impressed by PLTR's recent execution, and given its strong positioning and execution, there's no denying that it is deserving of a premium valuation," Moskowitz said. "However, valuation cannot and should not be irrelevant, and we find it very difficult to justify PLTR's very high multiple - 60x CY2026E revenue - that in our view already discounts material acceleration and upside versus consensus expectations." Deutsche Bank: reiterates sell rating, raises price target to $80 from $50 Analyst Brad Zelnick's forecast equates to more than 35% downside. "Our FY26 estimates increase 6% on revenue and 13% on operating income but with the stock trading at 57x our CY26E revenue in [after hours] trading, our main concern continues to be valuation," Zelnick said. RBC: reiterates underperform rating and $40 price target Analyst Rishi Jaluria's price target signals nearly 70% downside from Monday's close. "Overall, Government results were better than expectations, but our concerns about the runway for growth and product differentiation remain. Commercial came in slightly below consensus. While 2025 numbers move higher on guidance ahead of consensus, we question conservatism and if estimate revisions are priced in from here. Jefferies: keeps underperform rating and $60 price target Analyst Brent Thill's price target points to a decline of more than 50%. "Fundamentals are clearly alive, but we think irrational valuation at 56x CY26 rev skews risk/reward negatively." Loop Capital: reiterates buy rating, raises price target to $130 from $125 The firm's new price target signals upside of 5% ahead. "In terms of the stock, you can gripe about valuation, and that's legitimate, but it's difficult to find fault with the fundamentals. Bottom line, the market for enterprise AI is enormous, is at a tipping point as small-scale pilot programs move into production and AI use cases grow exponentially across all industries, and we believe PLTR is uniquely positioned as one of the category leaders in the space," analyst Mark Schappel wrote. Wedbush: maintains outperform rating, raises price target to $140 from $120 Analyst Dan Ives' new target signals upside of 13%. "We view Palantir as a generational tech name that we see as a trillion market cap over the next three years with PLTR being a core name in the AI Revolution theme over the coming years."
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Palantir Shares Drop Amid AI Spending Concerns, Goldman Sachs Maintains Neutral Rating
Shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR, Financials) declined sharply Friday after Goldman Sachs reiterated a neutral rating and investors questioned the pace of artificial intelligence investment, partly due to a downsized initial public offering from CoreWeave. Palantir shares closed at $85.85, down 4.7% on the day, and slid a further 4% to $82.38 in pre-market trading Monday. The stock is still up 14.1% for the year but remains 27% below its mid-February peak. The Denver-based software company has seen growing demand for its artificial intelligence platform, known as AIP, which helps enterprises consolidate fragmented datasets into unified systems. Its ontology framework, which contextualizes and links business entities and workflows, has drawn particular attention from commercial clients seeking to accelerate AI deployment. Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges maintained her $80 price target in a note published Friday, emphasizing that Palantirs ontology continues to deliver quick implementation timelines and measurable returns. However, she cited concerns about broader AI investment trends as a moderating factor in her outlook. In February, Palantir reported fourth-quarter earnings of $0.14 per share, ahead of analyst estimates. Quarterly revenue jumped 36% year-over-year to $827.5 million, bolstered by AI-related products in its commercial business. For 2025, the company forecast revenue of approximately $3.75 billion, topping consensus estimates from London Stock Exchange Group. Commercial revenue alone is projected to grow 54% year-over-year to $1.08 billion. Still, uncertainty around U.S. defense spending has weighed on investor sentiment. Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth proposed cutting the Pentagon budget by $290 billion over five years, a move that could impact Palantir, which generated 17% of its revenue in 2024 from the U.S. Department of Defense, according to the companys annual report. Market watchers are also monitoring CoreWeave, a Nvidia-backed AI infrastructure provider, which recently slashed its IPO price and valuation by around 35%. The company now targets a $23 billion valuation, raising concerns about near-term AI demand, especially among enterprise clients. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
