Stocks surged higher on the news of a lighter-than-expected increase in consumer prices for November. Consumer prices rose just 0.1% from a month ago and 7.1% from the previous year, where economists expected a 0.3% monthly increase and a 7.3% increase year-over-year. Investors hope that the lower-than-expected rise in consumer prices is a sign that inflation has peaked and will influence the Fed to ease back on its policy tightening without pushing the economy into a recession.
Today we’ve got our eyes on a developing story from the tech sector with solid potential for steady growth over the next five years. This stock has been gaining steam as market participants turn their focus to growth and seems to have plenty of runway ahead.
Israel-based Nice Ltd. (NICE) is a provider of enterprise software with more than 27,000 customers (including 85% of the Fortune 100) from 150 countries. Its operating segments consist of Customer Interactions Solutions and Financial Crime & Compliance Solutions. Over the past year, the company generated $2.0 billion in revenue, approximately $1.1 billion was cloud-based revenue. Over the past three years, the company’s revenue grew 22.3% from $1.57 billion in 2019 to $1.92 billion in 2021. In terms of profits, its operating profit rose 10.6% to $263.9 million from $238.7 million a year earlier.
Building on the stellar growth, the company reiterated its ambitious targets when it unveiled its NICE3D strategic plan during its recent investors’ day event. The company outlined its updated financial goals through fiscal 2026, headlined by 30%+ operating margins and double-digit revenue growth. Nice posted a solid Q3 with cloud momentum maintaining strong growth. The company’s outlook remains robust as management reiterated a 27% year-over-year cloud growth target for this year and 25% for next year. The current consensus among 12 polled analysts is to Buy NICE. A median price target of $260 represents an increase of 23% from Monday’s closing price.
