Nice Charges Ahead With Cloud Contact Center Wins in a Stellar First Quarter; Maintain $296 FVE

Narrow-moat Nice reported strong first-quarter results that exceeded both the high end of guidance and FactSet consensus expectations for revenue and adjusted EPS. Management issued higher-than-expected second-quarter guidance and raised its full-year 2022 outlook, which we view as appropriate as the company generated a record pipeline in the first quarter, up 55% from the year-ago period. We balance higher-than-expected near-term results with marginally higher long-term investment needs and accordingly are maintaining our fair value estimate of $296 per share. With shares trading around $190 per share, we view Nice as an attractive buying opportunity for investors seeking to capitalize on the cloudification of the contact center with a company shrewdly positioned at the intersection of legacy-like upmarket reach and best-of-breed native cloud capabilities.