NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of LinkedIn Corp. are up 2.87% to $231.02 in pre-market trading today after Goldman Sachs added the company to its "Americas Conviction Buy List" and raised its price target to $280 from $250. "We're adding LinkedIn to the Conviction List ahead of results on Thursday. We expect 4Q revenues of $634 million, up 42% year-over-year versus 45% in 3Q, versus consensus of $617 million and adjusted EBITDA of at least $164 million versus consensus of $161 million; both above the high end of guidance," Goldman Sachs said. Analysts expect the Sales Navigator product cycle, improving mobile monetization due in part to the acquisition of Bizo, continued strength in the Recruiter business, and meaningful margin expansion should drive upside beyond consensus revenue and EPS estimates over the course of 2015. Exclusive Report: Jim Cramer's Best Stocks for 2015 STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more. Longer term, analysts believe the value of LinkedIn as a network of high value professionals with all of the data, content, and engagement involved will continue to drive recruiters, salespeople, and advertisers to the platform in a way that will create "significant value" for shareholders. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates LINKEDIN CORP as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate LINKEDIN CORP (LNKD) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and good cash flow from operations. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: The revenue growth greatly exceeded the industry average of 9.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 44.6%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displaying stagnant earnings per share. LNKD has no debt to speak of therefore resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of zero, which we consider to be a relatively favorable sign. Along with this, the company maintains a quick ratio of 3.44, which clearly demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs. Compared to where it was a year ago today, the stock is now trading at a higher level, regardless of the company's weak earnings results. Looking ahead, our view is that this company's fundamentals will not have much impact in either direction, allowing the stock to generally move up or down based on the push and pull of the broad market. The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Internet Software & Services industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 26.8% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from -$3.36 million to -$4.26 million. The company's current return on equity has slightly decreased from the same quarter one year prior. This implies a minor weakness in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Internet Software & Services industry and the overall market, LINKEDIN CORP's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500. You can view the full analysis from the report here: LNKD Ratings Report STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.
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