Jefferies Deems IPCM Cured, Upgrades to Buy

Jefferies & Company analysts Arthur I. Henderson, Brian Tanquilut, and Paxton Scott have upgraded IPC The Hospitalist Co. IPCM to Buy. The analysts believe IPCM has been oversold, and is now valued too low relative to its growth rate. They expect "volumes to pick up in 2H10 as recent acquisitions and IPC's strong recruitment trends begin to contribute to revenue and EPS growth." IPCM was pummeled after its Q1 earnings release on concerns about a slowing in growth. But according to the analysts, "PC's 1Q10 in-market growth was not indicative of forward trends since it was impacted by a relatively steep prior-year comparison due to higher-than-average acquisition activity in 4Q08 and 1Q09." Jefferies' price target for IPCM is $35, an upside of 25% from its current price of $28.01.