Autodesk Could Return Capital More Aggressively In 2025: Analyst

After the recent pullback, shares of Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) appear more attractive, while the path for outperformance seems "cleaner" in 2025, according to Piper Sandler.

The Analyst: Analyst Clarke Jeffries upgraded the rating for Autodesk from Neutral to Overweight, while raising the price target from $311 to $357.

The Thesis: The share price is down 8% from the highs reached after the company's fiscal third-quarter earnings release, Jeffries said in the upgrade note.

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The stock came under pressure due to the appointment of Janesh Moorjani as the CFO and uncertainty around Autodesk's performance in fiscal 2026, "compounded” by FX and the “new transaction model," he added.

Due to a new CFO coming in, the company has not yet provided new targets, the analyst stated. Autodesk needs to "concretely define new efficiency goals," he added.

Autodesk exited "the steepest part of the multi-year billings trough in FY24" and its free cash flows could grow by more than 40% this year, and the company could "deploy cash more aggressively toward capital return policies in the coming year," Jeffries further wrote.

Price Action: Shares of Autodesk had risen by 1.37% to $294.80 at the time of publication on Wednesday.

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Image: Courtesy of Autodesk