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Shares of numerous cloud companies this morning are plunging, following a 40% decline in shares of LinkedIn (LNKD), and a nearly 50% decline in shares of Tableau Software (DATA), which, while not a cloud company per se, is neveretheless not helping high-valuation names like Salesforce.com (CRM), Workday (WDAY), and ServiceNow (NOW).

Workday is down $9.49, or 15%, at $55.35; Salesforce is off $10.97, or 24%, at $59.82; and ServiceNow is off $8.77, or 15%, at $49.85.

The proximate cause is the lower forecast yesterday afternoon from LinkedIn, with the company talking about streamlining its business.

Re/code’s Kara Swisher was on CNBC’s "Squawk Alley" segment this morning to discuss the carnage.

"I think it’s just a worry over growth,” said Swisher. "Their numbers are substantively — hundreds of millions of dollars — below what they promised,” speaking of LinkedIn. "I think high growth is what it’s about. Usually, LinkedIn is a little more tight about their messaging. They have nothing to be ashamed of. I think investors are just spooked."

Price targets for LinkedIn are being slashed right and left this morning, even though many bulls maintain the company’s “model” is “not broken."

The stock has gotten at least one downgrade, that I can see, from Raymond James’s Justin Patterson, who cuts his rating from Strong Buy to Market Perform, and stripped away his $295 price target, writing that "the 2016 thesis has changed from “reacceleration & margin inflection” to “deceleration & looking for the next growth engine."

While guidance likely contains some conservatism, LinkedIn’s now provided cautious guidance for three of the past four quarters and earnings quality is poor (i.e. SBC now represents >60% of EBITDA, with revenue growth decelerating). Thus, we believe the after-hours reaction is warranted and that LNKD shares are likely range-bound until growth reaccelerates, guidance volatility subsides, and earnings quality improves.

Shebly Seyrafi with FBN Securities cuts his price target to $180 from $280, while writing “we still see an effective 24-26% CC growth this year."

A more modest reaction comes from Stifel Nicolaus’s Scott Devitt, who reiterates a Buy rating, and trims his price target to $220 from $270, writing that things will be just fine with the business when the dust settles:

Although the aftermarket decline is painful, management is known for its conservative outlooks (especially at the start of the year) and we believe LinkedIn's shares will be set up well for the rest of 2016 after an anticipated price reset tomorrow. Investors may question its strategy, but LinkedIn is narrowing its focus on high value, high impact initiatives and jettisoning those investments that do not provide acceptable returns. Although its marketing business will likely face distractions this year, we think LinkedIn's talent, sales, and learning & development businesses are poised for a strong year.