Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) shares were on form on Thursday.
The cloud accounting platform provider's shares rose 3.5% to $110.75.
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Why did Xero shares thump the market?
There were a couple of reasons why Xero shares outperformed on Thursday.
The first was a strong showing for tech stocks following a stellar night on Wall Street's tech-focused NASDAQ index.
This has seen the S&P ASX All Technology index rise by approximately 2.7% today.
What else?
Also potentially giving Xero's shares a boost today was a broker note out of Goldman Sachs.
According to the note, the broker has reiterated its conviction buy rating with a slightly improved price target of $148.00. This implies a potential upside of approximately 34% over the next 12 months.
What did Goldman say?
The broker is feeling confident ahead of next week's half-year results release and is forecasting top-line growth of 21% to NZ$800 million.
Outside this, Goldman has listed a number of reasons why it believes Xero is a tech stock to buy right now. It said:
We see Xero as very well-placed to take advantage of the digitisation of SMBs globally, driven by compelling efficiency benefits and regulatory tailwinds, with >100mn SMBs worldwide representing a >NZ$76bn TAM. Given the company's pivot to profitable growth and corresponding faster earnings ramp, we see an attractive entry point into a global growth story with Xero our preferred large-cap technology name in ANZ – we are Buy rated (on CL).
