Daiwa double upgrades Zoom, says market retreat presents a good entry point

The recent market sell-off that’s hard-hit the technology sector offers a “good entry point” for shares of Zoom Video , Daiwa Capital Markets said. Analyst Stephen Bersey double upgraded the popular stay-at-home beneficiary to outperform from underperform, saying in a Friday note to clients that the recent pullback in tech presents an excellent opportunity to buy Zoom Video. He also sees strengths in the company’s core business model. “We recommend that our clients overweight shares of ZM as we think that near-term market growth expectations have tempered,” Bersey wrote. “Strategically, we think investors should focus on the company’s core business as we believe that ZM’s valuation is highly dependent on its core business performance.” Shares of Zoom have plummeted 40% since the start of the year, but Daiwa thinks the stock is poised to bounce back. The firm raised its price target from $107 per share to $121, representing a 9.6% upside from Friday’s close price. Zoom’s first-quarter operating results and recent guidance are also reasons to remain optimistic about the stock, and the company continues to make “good progress” with enterprise accounts as revenue grew 31% over the year-ago period, Bersey said. “Based on our sales estimates, ZM’s shares are currently trading at a PS multiple of 5.3x, or a 58.8% premium to the Internet Vendors’ peer-group average PS multiple of 3.3x,” he wrote. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting