Uber is strongly positioned for the coming "offline era" of internet, according to Raymond James.
With 93 million monthly active platform customers globally using Uber's "offline app" for transportation and food delivery, the ride-hailing company can attain 25% revenue growth over the next five years, Raymond James analyst Justin Patterson said in a note to clients Wednesday.
"In contrast to traditional Internet companies, Uber is a digital app powering offline behavior," he said. "This elevates cost in the early years, but arguably creates a more defensible long-term position."
Investors' biggest concern since Uber's initial public offering last month is its path to profitability. Patterson recognizes that the company's shares have been pressured on these "reasonable concerns." However, he said, internet businesses are increasingly shifting to offline from online, and Uber has capitalized on that early, which creates a better long term strategy.
Patterson said Uber's end-market penetration is less than 1% globally.
"Considering Amazon and Booking sustained 20%+ growth in markets that were more penetrated, we see ample room for outsized growth," he said, referring to the parent company of booking.com, Kayak and OpenTable.
Patterson said that with Uber's market share across transportation, delivery and freight, its growth will accelerate and the competition will "rationalize" over the next 12 months. Investors currently consider the ride-hailing industry to be a duopoly with rival Lyft.
Raymond James initiated coverage of the stock with an outperform rating and a target price of $50.
Uber's stock is down about 5% since its market debut at the New York Stock Exchange last month. The stock has rallied over 5% in the first days of June.
— with reporting from CNBC's Michael Bloom