ThinkEquity starts Callidus Software with buy, shares up

Stock Market Predictions

(Global Markets) - ThinkEquity started Callidus Software Inc (CALD.O) with a "buy" rating, saying the cloud-based software maker is likely to gain market share by cross selling its recently acquired cloud products to enterprise customers.

Shares of Callidus, whose software is used to manage employee compensation, were up 8 percent at $4.71 on Friday morning on the Nasdaq. ThinkEquity set a price target of $8.00 on the stock.

"We view the opportunity to cross sell recently acquired cloud solutions into a large installed base of 1,200 large enterprise customers as an attractive opportunity," analyst Bradley Sills said in a research note.

Since 2011, the Pleasanton, California-based company has acquired several small companies such as ForceLogic, Webcom and Leadformix to expand its footprint in the incentive and compensation management software market.

The brokerage said with more companies evaluating cloud-based tools, Callidus is likely to gain market share due to its credibility and the wide range of its products and features.

The brokerage also started coverage of web-based software maker Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N) with a "buy" rating, citing its ability to consolidate its share in the customer relationship management (CRM) market.

Salesforce shares were up 2 percent at $129.64 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Shubham Singhal in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)