Duck Creek 2023 outlook ‘much improved’ on relative basis, says Raymond James

Duck Creek Technologies last night issued its annual proxy statement, which includes internal performance targets used for executive compensation, Raymond James analyst Alexander Sklar tells investors in a research note. The fiscal 2022 objectives were again based on software-as-a-service annual recurring revenue, total revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and other operational metrics at the board’s discretion, says the analyst. He points out Duck Creek’s internal targets of $314.5M in revenue and $19.8M in adjusted EBITDA came in 6% and 16% above the midpoints of its initial fiscal 2022 external guidance ranges. The spread between the internal and external targets widened in 2022 relative to 2021, suggesting an attempt at "greater external conservatism and/or high conviction on its ability to close new business," writes Sklar. He believes Duck Creek’s 2023 outlook is "much improved on a relative basis" due to a healthier end customer backdrop and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares.