The Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) share price has had a very strong start to the week. In morning trade the shares of the provider of digital Audio-Visual networking technologies are up 5% to $8.38.
This latest gain means that Audinate's shares have now stormed an impressive 135% since the start of the year.
It also puts them up there with the likes of Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) and Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) which have gained 116% and 145%, respectively, in 2019.
Is it too late to invest?
The good news for investors is that one of Australia's leading brokers believes that it isn't too late to jump on board with Audinate.
According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have initiated coverage on the company's shares with an overweight rating and lofty $10.30 price target.
This price target implies potential upside of approximately 23% over the next 12 months even after accounting for today's solid gain.
Why is the broker bullish on Audinate?
There are a number of reasons that Morgan Stanley is feeling very bullish about Audinate's prospects.
Chief among them is its dominant position in the audio network industry thanks to its high quality Dante product.
Dante is an uncompressed, multi-channel digital media networking technology, with near-zero latency and synchronisation. It is the industry's preferred audio networking solution and has been adopted by more pro-audio AV manufacturers than any other networking technology.
Morgan Stanley believes this strong market position gives it superior economics due to a combination of scale, pricing power, and other factors.
It isn't the only broker that is positive on the company. At the end of May analysts at UBS initiated coverage on the company with a buy rating and $9.45 price target.
With both brokers tipping the company's shares to surge notably higher from here, I wouldn't be betting against Audinate recording a new 52-week high in the near future.
