UPDATE: Credit Suisse Reiterates Neutral Rating, Lowers PT on Jive Software on 4Q14 Revenue Report

In a report published Wednesday, Credit Suisse analyst Michael Nemeroff reiterated a Neutral rating on Jive Software JIVE, but lowered the price target from $8.00 to $6.00. In the report, Credit Suisse noted, "JIVE posted Q4 revenue / EPS ahead of CS / Street estimates but guided 2015 revenue, Op loss, and EPS below Street expectations. More importantly, management guided 2015 short-term billings growth to just +5- 10% yr/yr, which is well below their prior 2014 target of ‘mid- to high-teens' growth (which it missed), as the company undergoes a product and go-to-market strategy transition under newly appointed CEO Elisa Steele. While we can appreciate the company's new simplified and refocused product and sales strategies, which could create more scalable and repeatable execution, these newly implemented programs could take a few qtrs to take effect and for business momentum to build. That said, with valuation of the shares at just 1.5x 2015 EV/Sales, and net cash representing ~30% of Jive's market cap, we see limited downside in the shares from current levels, although they may not appreciate meaningfully in the near-future, either. In addition, we believe JIVE could be a potential takeover target given the cheap valuation, best-of-breed products, as well as a meaningful share of the Enterprise Social Software (ESS) market." Jive Software closed on Tuesday at $6.09.