Absolute Software’s new leadership bringing better growth potential, says Cormark

After an earnings warning last month, Cormark analyst Richard Tse says he sees some bright spots from Absolute Software’s (Absolute Software Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSX:ABT) first quarter results.

Yesterday, Absolute Software reported its Q1, 2016 results. The company earned (U.S.) $1-million on revenue of $24-million a 3-per-cent increase over the $23.2-million topline the company reported in the same period last year.

“Although we encountered sales disruptions associated with the reorganization of our sales force, we continue to execute successfully against our strategic plan to establish Absolute as a global information security leader,” said CEO Geoff Haydon. “In Q1, this included the strengthening of our sales and product development teams as well as commencing the divestiture of non-core technology assets. We expect the benefits of these actions will materialize as we move through the year.”

Tse says Absolute software is plagued by an inconsistent record when it comes to execution, but says he sees some recent notable bright spots. He notes that the company reports that its new sales team has increased its pipeline by seven times in the short time it has been deployed. He also notes that recent technology partnerships with Microsoft, RSA and AMD have broadened the company’s product opportunities.

“…we believe the organizational changes over the past year have provided an increasingly stronger foundation to capturing growth in F2016 and beyond,” says Tse. “And in our view, those strategic initiatives should be able to drive Absolute’s current attach rates above ~1% across an installed base of over 500 MM devices.

In a research update to clients today, Tse reiterated his “Buy” recommendation and one-year target of $11.00 on Absolute Software.