Contrarian and patient investors should buy Tableau's (DATA) stock, according to research firm Robert W. Baird in a note to investors Wednesday. Tableau markets and develops data analysis software tools.

MINIMAL RISK: Portfolio managers appear to be selling Tableau's stock at the end of the year in order to improve their numbers, wrote Baird analyst Steven Ashley. This window dressing, along with the company's lower than expected 2017 revenue guidance, has largely insulated the stock against any further declines based on guidance, Ashley believes.

ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS: Tableau "has correctly identified and prioritized its two primary problems," according to Ashley. Specifically, the company has improved its go-to-market offerings for enterprises, and it has incorporated "critical centralized governance to its product offering," the analyst stated. The latter change makes its products a "bona fide" option for enterprises, Ashley believes.

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK: Entering 2018, Tableau's go-to-market issues should be fixed, and it should have a "best-in-class" enterprise business intelligence product, predicted Ashley. Finally, the stock should "be nicely higher" a year from now than it is today, he believes.

PRICE ACTION: in late morning trading, Tableau fell 1.5% to $42.01.