The IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) share price has fallen hard in 2022.
Since the start of the year, the language testing and student placement company's shares are down 30%.
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Is the IDP Education share price in the buy zone?
While the pullback in the IDP Education share price this year is disappointing for shareholders, it could be a buying opportunity for non-shareholders.
That's the view of the team at Goldman Sachs, which believe the company's shares could rise materially from current levels.
According to a note, the broker has reiterated its buy rating and $35.50 price target on its shares.
Based on the current IDP Education share price of $24.35, this implies potential upside of 46% for investors over the next 12 months.
Why is Goldman bullish?
Goldman notes that the latest student visa data out of Australia reveals that international student arrivals have now reached 74% of pre-pandemic levels. Goldman is expecting this momentum to continue and for pre-pandemic levels to be achieved in FY 2023. This bodes well for IDP Education's student placement business.
Outside this, the broker has named four reasons for its positive view. It explained:
We see a compelling long-term growth opportunity with a number of drivers:
- Structural growth in multi-destination student placement markets; supplemented by ongoing recovery in the Australian market;
- Ability to grow market share in highly fragmented Canadian and UK SP markets;
- Reinvestment in digital capabilities to increase competitive advantage and strengthen relationships with tertiary institutions and;
- Consolidation of IELTs business and ability to supplement organic growth with bolt-on acquisitions.
All in all, in light of this positive growth outlook, the broker appears to believe the IDP Education share price is trading at a very attractive level today.
