Plenty of opportunity exists in the $1-trillion global cloud software market, but investors should be careful about how they approach the space, according to Goldman Sachs. The Cloud Analyst: Kash Rangan initiated coverage of 12 cloud software stocks with the following ratings:salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM) initiated at Buy, $315 price target.Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) initiated at Buy, $285 price target.Workday Inc (NASDAQ: WDAY) initiated at Buy, $300 target.Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) initiated at Buy, $580 target.ServiceNow Inc (NYSE: NOW) initiated at Buy, $670 target.Splunk Inc (NASDAQ: SPLK) initiated at Buy, $240 target.Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) initiated at Neutral, $430 target.Snowflake Inc (NYSE: SNOW) initiated at Neutral, $310 target.Elastic NV (NYSE: ESTC) initiated at Neutral, $190 target.VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) initiated at Neutral, $150 target.Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) initiated at Sell, $270 target.Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) initiated at Sell, $60 target.Related Link: BofA Reinstates Coverage Of Cloud Stocks, Names Top Picks For 2021The Cloud Thesis: The big run in most software stocks has skewed Goldman’s bullish coverage toward attractively valued, high-quality growth stocks, Rangan said in a Thursday initiation note. Salesforce, Workday and Splunk will likely see improvements in their backlogs and an acceleration of free cash flow growth due to easy year-over-year comps, the analyst said.Goldman is modeling 24% year-over-year FCF growth for Salesforce and 33% FCF growth for Workday in the second half of 2021.In addition, Rangan said the market may be underestimating the potential for Microsoft Azure revenue growth to bounce back after dipping below 50%, boosting the company’s overall margins and profitability.”We believe fundamentals continue to be strong as Digital Transformation catalyzes Cloud adoption and propels the sector, pandemic or not,” the analyst said. The global cloud services market could be up to seven times larger than it is today in the long-term as more companies digitize their businesses, he said. Benzinga’s Take: The pandemic rapidly sped up the economic digital transformation by forcing many companies to adapt to a remote working environment.Some companies will likely return to their old way of doing things once the pandemic ends, but the vast majority will not.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Here’s How Much Investing ,000 In Morgan Stanley Stock 5 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today * Citron’s Andrew Left Says GameStop Is ‘Pretty Much In Terminal Decline'(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan initiated coverage on a basket of software names late Thursday, assigning buy ratings to shares of Microsoft Corp. , Workday Inc. , Adobe Systems Inc. , ServiceNow Inc. , Salesforce.com Inc. , and Splunk Inc. . He’s less upbeat about the prospects for Autodesk Inc. and Oracle Corp. as he assigned sell ratings to both names. Rangan’s buy-rated stocks “lean more toward reasonably valued high quality growth franchises,” he wrote. Companies like Microsoft, Salesforce, Workday, and Splunk look poised to benefit from a potential shift in software spending priorities toward the second half of the year, he argued. While corporate IT departments have been spending on “defensive” categories like video conferencing and remote applications, they could soon shift to more “offensive” areas like the public cloud, human-capital management, and financial tools, Rangan wrote. As for the sell-rated names, Rangan is worried about “secular pressure” for Oracle’s middleware business and the health of Autodesk’s customer base, particularly in terms of commercial construction companies after the pandemic ends.

New Solution Delivers Insight and Resources to Help Foster Healthier Workforces and Safer Workplaces Workday-HCM-vaccine-prioritisation-reporting Workday vaccine management dashboards provide visibility into vaccination rates in high-priority populations and immunity demographics of critical workers.LONDON, Jan. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY), a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, today announced a vaccine management solution that provides leaders with the insights needed to help ensure the health and safety of remote and on-site workers. As the core HR system for some of the world’s largest organisations, Workday offers a unique ability to combine real-time HR data with immunisation information, providing customers with the knowledge needed to successfully navigate through the challenges of COVID-19. With a customer community representing more than 45 million workers, Workday is supporting global organisations as they manage their people and finances throughout the pandemic. The vaccine management solution expands on the Workday Return to Workplace offering and helps enable organisations to securely access worker immunisation insight, plan return to workplace scenarios, support worker well-being, and establish new operating models to adapt as vaccines become available. In addition, Workday offers customers configurability to control and securely manage the data and protect their employees’ privacy.Helping to Create a Healthier Workforce and Providing a Safer Workplace The new Workday vaccine management solution provides global HR and business leaders with the speed, flexibility, and security to manage vaccine-related initiatives, specifically enabling customers to: * Gain Visibility into Overall Workforce Health and Workplace Safety Workday provides a single, centralised control centre to view and quickly respond to potential risks when speed is critical to keeping employees protected and workplaces safe. With the availability of new vaccine management dashboards, organisations can now proactively monitor and manage immunisation dynamics as they relate to their workforce and workplace with new insights on vaccine availability, vaccination rate, and adherence. Customers can also track immunisation status by infection type, by job profile, location, region, and worker. * Plan for Reopening and Recovery Workday enables employers to prepare for the impact worker vaccination will have on their workforce and workplace. With scenario planning, organisations can model office space demands, personal protective equipment (PPE) needs, and workforce availability. Mapping their in-person, skilled workforce with vaccine prioritisation allows employers to identify employee groups, such as frontline workers, that should most urgently receive the vaccine to help ensure a safe return for all employees. * Empower and Support the Workforce Workday provides the ability to do employee outreach and communications to inform, educate, and allow employees to securely and confidentially self-report immunisation information as part of the health attestation survey. Organisations can then automatically curate personalised and relevant information to support employees based on their immunity status. This allows employers to help educate and assist employees that have not yet been immunised, as well as to continue to support those with COVID-19. Additionally, the Workday vaccine management solution supports specific needs in healthcare and other essential services industries to help customers streamline complex vaccine reporting and management. This includes the complexities of single and multi-dose vaccines, recalls, or even emerging requirements that can easily be tracked and reported on, enabling site planning, vaccination scheduling, and compliance.Comments on the News “As the core HR system for some of the world’s largest companies — and with a customer community representing more than 45 million workers — we’re in a unique position to help organisations navigate the changing world of work,” said Pete Schlampp, executive vice president, product development, Workday. “We understand the complexity that comes with exploring the safest way to return to the workplace, which is why we’re doubling down on delivering innovative solutions like vaccine management that truly support customers’ evolving needs so that they’re prepared and focused on what matters most — their people.”“On the heels of one of the most challenging years, HR leaders are now working to address the many twists and turns of vaccine management and a safe return to work,” said Ashley Goldsmith, chief people officer, Workday. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all as we look to scenario plan and adopt the right approaches to each of our office openings based on vaccine protocols and progress with vaccine distribution. Having this unified data where and when we need it is a key component in prioritising our employees — our number one core value — and their well-being during such a critical time.”Additional Information For additional perspective on Workday return to workplace and vaccine management solutions: * Read the blog “Vaccine Management in the Workplace: A Roadmap for Business Leaders” * Check out Workday resources to support returning to the workplace * Register to attend the webinar, “Vaccine Management Capabilities in Workday,” on February 4, 2021 About Workday Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world. Workday applications for financial management, human resources, planning, spend management, and analytics have been adopted by thousands of organisations around the world and across industries—from medium-sized businesses to more than 45 percent of the Fortune 500\. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other things, statements regarding the expected performance and benefits of Workday’s and Workday Strategic Sourcing’s offerings. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “seek,” “plan,” “project,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. If the risks materialise or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. Risks include, but are not limited to, risks described in Workday’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including Workday’s Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2020 and future reports that may be filed with the SEC from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. Workday assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.Any unreleased services, features, or functions referenced in this document, our website, or other press releases or public statements that are not currently available are subject to change at Workday’s and Workday Strategic Sourcing’s discretion and may not be delivered as planned or at all. Customers who purchase Workday and/or Workday Strategic Sourcing services should make their purchase decisions based upon services, features, and functions that are currently available.Media Contact: Patrick Evenden patrick.evenden@workday.comAn infographic accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ed988a22-d580-490c-ae9b-ec62994e6167

New Solution Delivers Insight and Resources to Help Foster Healthier Workforces and Safer Workplaces Workday Announces Vaccine Management Solution Workday vaccine management dashboards provide visibility into vaccination rates in high-priority populations and immunity demographics of critical workers.PLEASANTON, Calif., Jan. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY), a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, today announced a vaccine management solution that provides leaders with the insights needed to help ensure the health and safety of remote and on-site workers. As the core HR system for some of the world’s largest organizations, Workday offers a unique ability to combine real-time HR data with immunization information, providing customers with the knowledge needed to successfully navigate through the challenges of COVID-19. With a customer community representing more than 45 million workers, Workday is supporting global organizations as they manage their people and finances throughout the pandemic. The vaccine management solution expands on the Workday Return to Workplace offering and helps enable organizations to securely access worker immunization insight, plan return to workplace scenarios, support worker well-being, and establish new operating models to adapt as vaccines become available. In addition, Workday offers customers configurability to control and securely manage the data and protect their employees’ privacy.Helping to Create a Healthier Workforce and Providing a Safer Workplace The new Workday vaccine management solution provides global HR and business leaders with the speed, flexibility, and security to manage vaccine-related initiatives, specifically enabling customers to: * Gain Visibility into Overall Workforce Health and Workplace Safety Workday provides a single, centralized control center to view and quickly respond to potential risks when speed is critical to keeping employees protected and workplaces safe. With the availability of new vaccine management dashboards, organizations can now proactively monitor and manage immunization dynamics as they relate to their workforce and workplace with new insights on vaccine availability, vaccination rate, and adherence. Customers can also track immunization status by infection type, by job profile, location, region, and worker. * Plan for Reopening and Recovery Workday enables employers to prepare for the impacts worker vaccination will have on their workforce and workplace. With scenario planning, organizations can model office space demands, personal protective equipment (PPE) needs, and workforce availability. Mapping their in-person, skilled workforce with vaccine prioritization allows employers to identify employee groups, such as frontline workers, that should most urgently receive the vaccine to help ensure a safe return for all employees. * Empower and Support the Workforce Workday provides the ability to do employee outreach and communications to inform, educate, and allow employees to securely and confidentially self-report immunization information as part of the health attestation survey. Organizations can then automatically curate personalized and relevant information to support employees based on their immunity status. This allows employers to help educate and assist employees that have not yet been immunized, as well as to continue to support those with COVID-19.Additionally, the Workday vaccine management solution supports specific needs in healthcare and other essential services industries to help customers streamline complex vaccine reporting and management. This includes the complexities of single and multi-dose vaccines, recalls, or even emerging requirements that can easily be tracked and reported on, enabling site planning, vaccination scheduling, and compliance.Comments on the News “As the core HR system for some of the world’s largest companies — and with a customer community representing more than 45 million workers — we’re in a unique position to help organizations navigate the changing world of work,” said Pete Schlampp, executive vice president, product development, Workday. “We understand the complexity that comes with exploring the safest way to return to the workplace, which is why we’re doubling down on delivering innovative solutions like vaccine management that truly support customers’ evolving needs so that they’re prepared and focused on what matters most — their people.”“On the heels of one of the most challenging years, HR leaders are now working to address the many twists and turns of vaccine management and a safe return to work,” said Ashley Goldsmith, chief people officer, Workday. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all as we look to scenario plan and adopt the right approaches to each of our office openings based on vaccine protocols and progress with vaccine distribution. Having this unified data where and when we need it is a key component in prioritizing our employees — our number one core value — and their well-being during such a critical time.”Additional Information For additional perspective on Workday return to workplace and vaccine management solutions: * Read the blog “Vaccine Management in the Workplace: A Roadmap for Business Leaders” * Check out Workday resources to support Returning to the Workplace * Register to attend the webinar, “Vaccine Management Capabilities in Workday,” on February 4, 2021 About Workday Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world. Workday applications for financial management, human resources, planning, spend management, and analytics have been adopted by thousands of organizations around the world and across industries—from medium-sized businesses to more than 45 percent of the Fortune 500\. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other things, statements regarding the expected performance and benefits of Workday’s and Workday Strategic Sourcing’s offerings. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “seek,” “plan,” “project,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. If the risks materialize or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. Risks include, but are not limited to, risks described in Workday’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including Workday’s Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2020 and future reports that may be filed with the SEC from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. Workday assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.Any unreleased services, features, or functions referenced in this document, our website, or other press releases or public statements that are not currently available are subject to change at Workday’s and Workday Strategic Sourcing’s discretion and may not be delivered as planned or at all. Customers who purchase Workday and/or Workday Strategic Sourcing services should make their purchase decisions based upon services, features, and functions that are currently available.Media Contact: Diane Orr media@workday.comA photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/664ff78c-424b-436b-b7f8-87d0533a9da8

In this episode of Industry Focus: Wildcard, our theme week continues as host Jason Moser and Motley Fool Ventures Vice President Brendan Mathews dive into two more stocks they think investors should have at the top of their list for 2021. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool’s free podcasts, check out our podcast center. To get started investing, check out our quick-start guide to investing in stocks.