NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 18, 2016 / SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research and corporate access firm focused on small-cap and micro-cap public companies, today announced it has issued an update on IZEA, Inc. (NASDAQ: IZEA).
The report is available here: IZEA May 2016 Update Note. SeeThruEquity is an approved equity research contributor on Thomson First Call, Capital IQ, FactSet, and Zack's. The report will be available on these platforms. The firm also contributes its estimates to Thomson Estimates, the leading estimates platform on Wall Street.
"We continued to be impressed by the growth story playing out at IZEA. As disclosed in its 1Q16 results, released on May 11, 2016, IZEA continues to exhibit robust growth in bookings - a key predictor of future revenue growth. For the quarter, bookings rose by 71% to $7.4mn, led by outperformance in the company's Sponsored Social platform, which experienced 78% growth in bookings," commented Ajay Tandon, CEO of SeeThruEquity. "Our price target for IZEA moves to $15.00, following results since our last note, as well as the new share count for the company following a reverse-split, which was necessary for the company to uplist to the NASDAQ in February. If achieved, the target reflects upside potential of 161% from the recent price of $5.75."
Additional highlights from the note are as follows:
On May 11, 2016, IZEA reported FY1Q16 results, with highlights as follows:
- IZEA reported robust bookings growth of 71%. Bookings reached $7.4mn and represented the sixth consecutive quarter of record booking for the company.
- IZEA reported record first quarter revenues of $5.5mn, up 32% versus $4.1mn in 1Q15.
- Management reiterated full year revenue guidance of $27mn - $30mn, which would represent approximately 40% growth from 2015 levels
Robust growth continues at IZEA
IZEA continues to be among the fastest growing companies in our research universe, with 1Q16 revenues climbing 32% to reach $5.5mn - a record first quarter top line performance for the company. Results were driven by a combination of 80%+ growth in content revenues (reflecting the acquisition of Ebyline) as well as 6% organic growth in its Sponsored Social segment. 1Q16 marked the 12th consecutive quarter of YoY revenue growth, an impressive string.
Outlook boosted by 71% bookings growth, healthy pipeline
IZEA also showed continued strength in bookings, a key metric for evaluating the health of its business. Indeed, 1Q16 bookings were up 71% YoY at $7.4mn, representing a heathy 1.3x book-to-bill and setting record bookings level for the company for a sixth consecutive quarter. The company's pipeline of new proposals was also up more than 70% from year-ago levels, at $34.7mn. Reflecting these trends, management reiterated its full-year guidance of $27mn-$30mn. Overall we expect IZEA to continue to invest in growth and potentially new acquisitions as it pushes towards its goal of reaching $100mn in annualized bookings. Management has set a bold goal of reaching this run rate by the end of FY18E; we would expect the company to seek to achieve this level through a combination of organic growth and execution as well as acquisitions.
Price target moves to $15.00
We are updating our price target and estimates for IZEA to reflect recent results, as well as the reverse split executed prior to its NASDAQ uplisting. The $15.00 target reflects an EV/revenue multiple of 2.5x our 2016E revenue estimate of $28.4mn, and represents 161% potential upside from the recent price of $5.75.
Please review important disclosures at www.seethruequity.com.
About IZEA, Inc.
IZEA operates IZEAx, the premier online marketplace that connects brands with influential content creators. IZEA creators range from leading bloggers and social media personalities to A-list celebrities and professional journalists. Creators are compensated for developing and distributing unique content on behalf of brands including long form text, videos, photos and status updates. Brands receive influential consumer content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness. For more information about IZEA, visit http://corp.izea.com.
About SeeThruEquity
SeeThruEquity is an equity research and corporate access firm focused on companies with less than $1 billion in market capitalization. The research is not paid for and is unbiased. The company does not conduct any investment banking or commission based business. SeeThruEquity is approved to contribute its research to Thomson One Analytics (First Call), Capital IQ, FactSet, Zacks, and distribute its research to its database of opt-in investors. The company also contributes its estimates to Thomson Estimates, the leading estimates platform on Wall Street.
For more information visit www.seethruequity.com.
Contact:
Ajay Tandon
SeeThruEquity
info@seethruequity.com
SOURCE: SeeThruEquity
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