Autodesk's move to cloud could send up stock: Barron's

Design-software company Autodesk Inc's shares could jump 50 percent in the next 18 months as investors get more comfortable with the company's transition to a cloud-based business model, according to a Sunday report in Barron's financial newspaper. By the middle of next year, Autodesk, known for programs that help people make physical objects, will sell its last "perpetual license," according to Barron's, a term for boxed software. After that, those who rely on Autodesk's software will need to buy subscriptions for the products, all delivered via the cloud.The move means near-term pain: shares of Autodesk have lost almost a quarter of their value in 2015, with investors grappling with the fact that the shift to the cloud will hurt earnings temporarily. But Barron's notes that five years from now Autodesk could be earning over $4 a share, double its fiscal 2013 peak. The stock could benefit much sooner than that. Autodesk officials were not immediately available for comment. (Editing by Andrew Hay)