Despite the fact that Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) shares aren't having the best of days today, they are still up by around 30% in the last 30 days.
These gains were largely down to the release of a strong full year result at the end of August from the printed circuit board software provider.
For FY 2016 the company reported a 16.7% jump in revenue to US$93.6 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation rose 20.9% to US$27.4 million and normalised earnings per share grew an impressive 43.5% to 17.9 US cents (approximately 23.5 Australian cents).
I was very impressed with the result, but even more impressed with management's growth plans. Altium's management has now turned its attention to achieving market leadership and more than doubling its revenue to US$200 million by 2020.
Next year Altium should get a top line boost from its partnership with France-based software giant Dassault Systemes. The leading mechanical computer aided design company included Altium's software in the latest version of its popular SolidWorks product.
Furthermore, several acquisitions made in the last financial year are expected to make a notable impact on its results in FY 2017. None more so than the $7.9 million acquisition of Perception Software Inc, which is expected to be accretive to earnings next year.
So with such bright prospects why are its shares trading 6% lower today? Today's decline is a result of a downgrade by global investment bank UBS. According to a research note reported by the Fairfax press its analysts downgraded Altium from a buy to a sell, UBS maintained its price target of $9.05.
The downgrade was made on valuation grounds, with its analysts believing its share price has been getting ahead of itself.
Whilst it could yet drop lower, I believe this sell off has brought Altium's shares down to a good entry price for investors. Much like fellow beaten-down tech shares Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX) and Touchcorp Ltd (ASX: TCH), I would class Altium as a buy and expect it to prove itself to be a great investment in the long-term.
