Autodesk Upgraded by Goldman Sachs, Hits 18-Month High

Autodesk ADSK is surging on Friday on word of its upgrade by Goldman Sachs GS. According to TMC Net, Goldman Sachs upgraded the software heavyweight from Sell to Conviction Buy on Friday. As a result, shares have risen around five percent thus far on Friday morning. Piling on the Good News The upgrade comes as the latest in a series of good news for the San Rafael, California firm. In November, Autodesk announced a three year partnership with INDYCAR. INDYCAR's engineering and operations group will now use Autodesk applications to design and engineer product innovations for chassis design, parts and components. In December, the company announced that the New Mexico Department of Transportation (DOT) will begin using its Building Information Modeling software for road and highway design projects statewide. The New Mexico DOT is just the latest such agency to adopt this software, as Caltrans and others have already done so. Earlier this month, Autodesk announced an agreement with the Brunei Economic Development Board to help develop the Southeastern Asian country's media and entertainment industry. A few days later, the company noted its inclusion on FORTUNE's 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the second year in a row. This comes on the heels of a November announcement that the Great Places to Work® Institute named the software firm as one of the 25 best places to work on its World's Best Multinational Workplaces list. Then, on Tuesday, Autodesk announced a collaboration with NASA involving the research and development of “new technology that can monitor and optimize the operational life-cycle of high performance buildings.” 18-Month High As of this writing, Autodesk has climbed to around $39.50 and appears to still be on the rise. The stock is at its highest point since July 11, 2011, when it reached a high of $39.91 for the day. Is Goldman Right? Despite Goldman's upgrade and the ensuing market splurge thus far, analyst consensus overwhelmingly suggests a Hold of this stock. According to Yahoo Finance, 13 of 19 analysts offer this rating. Thus, investors may want to wait this one out instead of going all in just yet. Market Reaction Thus far, investors have taken kindly to Goldman's upgrade of the firm. As mentioned, the stock is at an 18-month high and has rallied up around five percent on Friday. Look for Autodesk to continue its market success through Friday and investors latch on to Goldman's updated opinion of the stock.