One huge buzzword that is perhaps now totally overused is trending. While overworked, it does point out what is new, happening and, most importantly in some cases, working. A new report from Cowen focuses on enterprise software and two trends that are huge for the industry.

In the report, the Cowen team points out that market share is shifting to software as a service, or SaaS, and the public cloud. With more and more individuals and corporations moving this way, certain companies are big winners. The Cowen analysts noted four specific companies gaining from this trend.

RackSpace Hosting

RackSpace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) is a leader in managed cloud. It is the founder of OpenStack — the open-source operating system for the cloud. It offers a diverse portfolio of cloud computing services, including public cloud, dedicated cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud. All of its services are committed to open technologies. The equipment — including servers, routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, cabinets, software and wiring — that is required to deliver services is typically purchased and managed by the company.

The stock was absolutely shredded earlier this month when it reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, while sales narrowly missed projections. The big problem was that Rackspace’s forecast for second-quarter sequential revenue growth of 1.5% to 2.5% was well below analysts’ estimates. The company’s CEO attributed the disappointing growth outlook to the timing of some large deals.

The key for investors is that the company still reiterated its full-year guidance, even with the reduced expectations for the current quarter. While sequential growth would have to rise 4% in the third and fourth quarters to reach the bottom of the forecast, if the big deals that got pushed out come in, patient investors may win big.

The Cowen price target for the stock, which is rated Outperform, is a gigantic $74, and the Thomson/First Call consensus target is $52.62. Shares closed on Tuesday at $42.84.

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Microsoft

The software giant’s Azure cloud offering continues to gain traction. Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT) rolled out the company’s G-series cloud offering back in January. With 448 Gigabytes of RAM and 6.6 Terabytes of local solid state drive storage, the roll-out for customers is currently limited to the U.S. western region. Wall Street analysts have pointed out that the Microsoft product offering beats Amazon by 80% on memory, and it is comparable on local storage and compute cores.

The company was recently in what was reportedly described as some big negotiations with another top trending company, Salesforce.com. In fact, some reported that the company was looking for a price tag as high as $70 billion. This apparently was a little rich for Microsoft’s taste, at least for now.

Microsoft investors are paid a 2.67% dividend yield. The stock is rated Market Perform at Cowen, which has a $49 price target. The consensus target is set at $48.83. Shares closed most recently at $46.59.

Salesforce

This company has been the momentum stock trader’s dream over the past few years as the demand for customer relationship management software has skyrocketed. Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) trades mostly in line with its fast organic SaaS peer group, which many see as having the largest growth rate in 2015, and some feel the company should trade at a premium to the group. The company posted year-over-year billings growth way above estimates and saw margins expand by 1.75%. Many Wall Street analysts see the company’s growing portfolio of Enterprise-class solutions as not only enhancing the brand, but helping to achieve access into bigger companies.

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The company blew out earnings estimates, and the Cowen team accurately had advised clients to buy the stock before the earnings announcement. Salesforce posted revenues of $1.511 billion that not only increased 23.2% from the year-ago quarter but also beat consensus estimates of $1.501 billion. Reported revenues also beat management’s guided range of $1.485 billion to $1.505 billion. The year-over-year improvement was primarily attributed to rapid adoption of the company’s cloud-based solutions.

The Cowen price target for the stock, which is rated Outperform, is posted at $85. The consensus is set at $79.91. The stock closed Tuesday at $73.57.

Workday

This is another stock momentum traders have set sail on, and the volatility has been a roller-coaster for shareholders. Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY) is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources. Workday delivers financial management, human capital management and analytics applications designed for the world’s largest companies, educational institutions and government agencies.

Many Wall Street analysts feel that cloud has emerged as the future state for many large enterprises, a fact that should continue to broaden the channel of available business opportunities for Workday.

This was another company that the Cowen team said to purchase in front of the earnings, and it reported somewhat disappointing earnings Tuesday after the close.

The Cowen price target for the stock, which they rate at Outperform, is $101. The consensus target is $103.41. Shares closed Tuesday at $92.49, but were down big in Wednesday’s premarket at $84.35.

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There is an old saying on Wall Street that “the trend is your friend.” Nothing could be closer to the truth, especially when it comes to SaaS stocks and those that are big players in the public cloud. Aggressive investors should look for pullbacks to add shares of these top companies.

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