50% Off! Beat the market in 2025 with InvestingProCLAIM SALE

Baird reiterates stock target with outperform rating on Zoom, cites AI growth

EditorNatashya Angelica
Published 10/10/2024, 12:00 PM
ZM
-

On Thursday, Baird reaffirmed its positive stance on shares of Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM), maintaining an Outperform rating with a $77.00 price target. The endorsement follows the firm's participation in Zoom's annual Zoomtopia user conference and investor session, which took place in San Jose yesterday.

The focal points of the conference were the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and the Contact Center, both of which are exhibiting strong growth trends. According to Baird, 57% of the Fortune 500 companies have already integrated Zoom's AI Companion into their operations. The firm highlighted the release of AI Companion 2.0, which brings additional capabilities to the platform.

Baird's commentary underscores the expanding suite of offerings from Zoom, including its phone system, contact center solutions, and AI innovations. The firm's analyst expressed confidence in these growth avenues and recommended Zoom as a value investment, noting that the stock is currently trading at approximately 9.0 times its forecasted fiscal year 2025 free cash flow (F25E FCF).

Zoom Video Communications has been actively enhancing its platform with new features to cater to the evolving needs of its user base. The integration of AI technology and the expansion of its contact center solutions are part of the company's strategy to maintain its competitive edge in the video conferencing market.

The maintained price target of $77.00 by Baird reflects a continuity of the firm's positive outlook on Zoom's financial performance and market position. The company's efforts to innovate and expand its product offerings seem to align with Baird's assessment of its future growth potential.

In other recent news, Zoom Video Communications reported Q2 2025 earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations, with non-GAAP income from operations reaching $456 million and total revenue amounting to $1.16 billion.

This led to a revision of the full-year revenue outlook to between $4.63 billion and $4.64 billion, and non-GAAP earnings per share are projected to be between $5.29 and $5.32. Mizuho and RBC Capital Markets maintained their Outperform rating on Zoom, while BTIG, Stifel, Citi, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs have maintained a neutral stance.

In a strategic move, Zoom has partnered with ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) to integrate AI capabilities for enhanced workflow automation, set to launch in the first half of 2025. The company also launched its cloud phone service in India, marking the first cloud private branch exchange (PBX) solution in the country. Additionally, Zoom appointed Michelle Chang, formerly of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), as its new Chief Financial Officer.

Zoom has introduced new features and products aimed at improving compliance and security, including Zoom Compliance Manager Plus, Meeting Survivability, and Zoom Mesh for Meetings. Furthermore, the company formed a strategic partnership with Mitel to provide a hybrid cloud solution, which is expected to be available in the first half of 2025. These recent developments reflect Zoom's ongoing efforts to enhance its offerings and market presence.

InvestingPro Insights

Zoom Video Communications' recent developments and Baird's positive outlook are further supported by real-time data from InvestingPro. The company's financial health appears robust, with a market capitalization of $21.54 billion and an impressive gross profit margin of 75.89% for the last twelve months as of Q2 2025. This aligns with one of the InvestingPro Tips highlighting Zoom's "impressive gross profit margins."

The stock's recent performance has been noteworthy, with a strong 24.95% return over the past three months. This is consistent with another InvestingPro Tip indicating a "strong return over the last three months." Moreover, Zoom is trading near its 52-week high, with the current price at 93.58% of its peak, suggesting investor confidence in the company's direction.

Baird's recommendation of Zoom as a value investment is supported by InvestingPro data showing a P/E ratio of 24.48, which may be considered reasonable for a tech company with Zoom's growth profile. The company's financial stability is further underscored by the InvestingPro Tip that Zoom "holds more cash than debt on its balance sheet," positioning it well for continued investment in AI and other growth initiatives.

For investors seeking a deeper understanding of Zoom's potential, InvestingPro offers 11 additional tips, providing a comprehensive view of the company's financial health and market position.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.