Needham & Company analyst Scott Berg reiterates Buy rating and raises price target on Five9 Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN) to $21 (from $18), suggesting the company plans to accelerate sales hiring, after delivering 2016 fourth quarter revenue and EPS above consensus projections.

Berg comments, "Five9 reported another all around solid quarter with revenue/EPS upside driven by enterprise segment growth rates exceeding 40% for the third straight quarter. We believe partner contribution continues to evolve, again influencing more than 50% of the quarter's deal and we expect this impact will be sustained at this level or higher as the recent influx of new partners contributes in FY17. Commentary suggests the industry's fast changing vendor landscape with M&A and a bankruptcy are tailwinds just beginning to positively impact FIVN's sales pipelines. We view initial FY17 guidance as conservative, especially with margins given management's stated goal to increase EBITDA margins ~1300bps over two years. We raise our PT to $21 to reflect our expectations of sustained demand trends and potential profitability in 2H."