Credit Suisse Says LinkedIn's Growing Engagement And Monetization Thesis 'Playing Out'

Stephen Ju of Credit Suisse on Friday commented in a note that LinkedIn Corp (NYSE: LNKD) proved in its quarterly results that its growing engagement and growing monetization thesis are playing out."Strength this quarter in Marketing Solutions reaffirms out belief that LinkedIn is well positioned to monetize its unique dataset and growing engagement both on and off-platform," Ju wrote. The analyst adds that in the near-term the mix-shift towards Sponsored Updates inventory and integration of Bizo into a unified B2 marketing suite will be "the most impactful drivers" of revenue growth while Sales Navigator will provide "more meaningful contribution."Looking forward to the long-term, Ju states that LinkedIn will see continued growth given its large and expanding addressable markets, still-low penetration rates and an "inherently underpriced all-you-can-eat pricing model" for Talent Solutions.Shares remain Outperform rated with a price target raised to $331 from a previous $285.