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Architectural software company Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) could be the “next upside surprise” in the industrial software space, Baird said on Thursday, noting billings are near a “historical bottom.” Analyst Joe Vruwink said the Architecture Billings Index showed improvement in November and other measures have performed better than in previous cycles. Based on history, the ABI is the “key leading indicator” for Autodesk shares and sentiment, Vruwink said. “[Historically], Autodesk stock performance bottoms in conjunction with ABI (+/-), and this moment happens 9-12 months ahead of troughs in revenue performance,” Vruwink wrote. Since hitting a low in October, Autodesk shares have gained 16%, outpacing the return in the S&P 500. He added that Autodesk shares have rose between 40% and 50% on average annual up-cycles, which if that happened, would see shares hit around $290, up another 27% from current levels. Following Baird’s previous spotlight on Anysys as a potential acquisition target, Vruwink said Autodesk and Bentley Systems (BSY) could be a fit, given where the cycle is. “Given Bentley likely has the most solid market backdrop of this bunch (IIJA resulting in better US infrastructure activity YoY), we are also more aggressive buyers on pullbacks here (particularly low/mid-$40 range nearing 35x FCF),” Vruwink wrote. Autodesk shares rose around 0.3% in mid-day trading on Thursday.