3 Key Takeaways From Autodesk's User Conference

Baird on Wednesday issued a report highlighting Autodesk, Inc. ADSK after the company's user conference. Baird maintained an Outperform rating with a $65 price target.

Analysts Steven Ashley, Jason Velkavrh and Matt Lemenager wrote, "Management believes that Manufacturing and Construction are currently Autodesk's largest opportunities and that its Cloud products could enable access to new customers in these areas...Autodesk is working with Airbus on the airliner's "Concept Plane" and cut the weight of the cockpit/cabin partition in half, with the implication being use of Generative Design on more parts of a plane could significantly improve fuel economy."

Analysts gave three key highlights following the conference:

• Subscription customers are happy with the software, even as the cost has increased.
• Autodesk's cloud products can help the company expand its reach and target a larger customer base.
• The software supports both licensing and subscription platforms which add a level of complexity to the service.

One of the primary questions at the conference was why the company would utilize its subscription-based pricing model. Autodesk pointed to the fact that this model would require less initial investment from its customer base and allows greater flexibility than a license model. This initiative may serve as a catalyst for the company going forward.