Top 8 SaaS Stocks

We’ve been looking at SaaS closely for a while now. Let’s do a recap of the Top 8 SaaS Stocks that I am tracking. Also, I want to reiterate that I believe SaaS stocks are recession-proof.

Salesforce.com

The leader in on-demand customer relationship management (CRM), Salesforce is one of my Top 8 SaaS Stocks. The company just announced excellent Q2 2008 results which beat analysts’ expectations. One of their most ambitious efforts is to use an incubator and a platform strategy to spawn a large number of SaaS startups on their platform. Read my interview series with former general manager and SVP René Bonvanie on this effort. I am very bullish on this strategy. Salesforce.com will be the first SaaS company to cross a billion dollars in annual revenue. The stock is expensive, so look out for buying opportunities due to macro issues or short-term misses. The fundamentals are excellent on this company.

Concur

Concur (CNQR) has been chosen because, like several of its counterparts, it has delivered strong earnings for the past year. I just covered their earnings in a post yesterday. The company recently signed a partnership agreement with American Express in which Concur will promote the American Express corporate card exclusively and in turn American Express will promote Concur’s expense management software. The deal with American Express and the company’s excellent earnings have sent the stock soaring approximately 20%. I interviewed the company’s CEO, Steve Singh, last year. Again, the stock is expensive, and you need to wait for a buying opportunity.

Taleo

Taleo (TLEO) closed at $21.60 yesterday up from $18.74 pre-earnings. This leader in talent management had a record quarter with revenue growth from the US as well as international markets. They signed a deal to acquire Vurv, which further strengthened their market position. Earnings coverage is here and an interview series with CEO Michael Gregoire can be found here.

A strong management team, flawless execution, and healthy sector growth are all good indicators for a long-term Hold.

RightNow

RightNow (RNOW) also declared Q2 2008 earnings that were above expectations. The stock closed at $16.54 yesterday, up over $2.00 from its pre-earnings price. Earnings coverage is here. This past week’s Entrepreneur Case Studies series, which features RightNow founder and CEO Greg Gianforte, can be found here.
I love the company’s Montana roots – an enviable cost structure position leveraging a stable workforce.

Omniture

Omniture, (OMTR) unlike the other SaaS companies, reported disappointing earnings which they largely attributed to acquisition-related costs. A more detailed report on their earnings is here. Despite their recent performance, they are still one of my Top Picks because their core value proposition is still sound. It’s also a company that has shown signs of wanting to do a roll-up in the web analytics space, which I like.

Citrix

My discussion of Citrix’s Q2 earnings (CTXS) can be found here. The stock had declined about 14% in the last six months, rising only after the earnings release, making it a good SaaS buy. As I mentioned earlier in the week, I still think it is a good target for acquisition by SAP or even Oracle or IBM. This is not a pure play SaaS stock, but rather a portfolio of good growth businesses, including virtualization.

SuccessFactors

On-demand performance and talent management solutions company SuccessFactors (SFSF) last month crossed 4 million users worldwide. They also reported record second quarter results of revenue growth of 71% y-o-y. This one has been featured on my Seven Stocks For Long-Term Hold.

Salary.com

Salary.com (SLRY), makers of on-demand data services that allow customers to compare salaries, reported their first quarter fiscal 2009 results on July 31 and the stock spiked almost 25% to $5.13 overnight. It has come down slightly now and closed at $4.30 yesterday. You can read my interview with on-demand pioneer and Salary.com CEO Kent Plunkett here. My guess is, either Taleo or SuccessFactors will look to acquire this one in the next 18 months, and if that happens, a 40-50% premium is in order.