The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is pushing higher on Monday morning.
At the time of writing, the cloud-based business and accounting platform provider's shares are up 1% to $140.49.
This means the Xero share price is now up 78% over the last 12 months.
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Can the Xero share price go higher?
One broker that believes the Xero share price can still go higher from here is Goldman Sachs.
This morning the broker retained its buy rating but trimmed its price target slightly to $153.00.
Based on the current Xero share price, this implies potential upside of 9%.
What did Goldman say?
Goldman Sachs has been looking into Xero's recent acquisition of both Planday and Tickstar.
The broker views both acquisitions as positive and expects them to accelerate Xero's platform strategy through the broadening of its product offering into workforce management.
In addition, it notes that they provide a platform for Xero to launch its core accounting product in Scandinavia, which its sees as an attractive potential market.
Goldman Sachs estimates that there is a total addressable market (TAM) of 2.2 million subscribers for its accounting software in the region.
The broker also feels that the region has favourable market characteristics. These include limited competition, high GDP/capita supporting pricing power, high digitisation, VAT compliance, and supportive E-invoicing regulations.
What else did Goldman say?
In addition to the acquisitions, Goldman has been looking into industry data to see how Xero has been performing. Positively, it believes Xero's strong form has continued.
Goldman said: "We consider recent data points, which are collectively tracking well. These include: (1) Accounting partner numbers continue to grow strongly, with annualized growth of c.20% in key markets, while the announced BDO partnership (5th biggest practice globally, offices in 171 countries) is a meaningful positive; (2) the number of apps in the ecosystem continues to increase, growing at an annualized rate of 25-32% p.a. across AU/UK/US; (3) XRO/QBO pricing has increased, while Freshbooks launched in AU; (4) Google trends data for XRO is mixed, performing well in AU/UK but lagging in the US."
Why has the broker reduced its price target?
Despite the many positives listed above, readers may have noted that Goldman's target on the Xero share price has been reduced.
It explained that this was due largely to a reduction in US software as a service (SaaS) peer multiples, impacting its valuation.
It explained: "We revise our FY21-FY23 EBITDA by +2-7% (-1 to +1% constant currency) driven by (1) the inclusion of Planday/Tickstar; (2) Accelerated Scandinavia rollout, and (3) AUD FX upgrades. Our 12mf TP decreases by -3% to A$153/share, with the earnings upgrades offset by lower US SaaS peer multiples (2x reduction to 27X) updated spot A$/NZ$ (1.08, from 1.05) and increased share base."
