Morgan Keegan Reiterates Outperform Rating on Cooper Companies (COO)

Morgan Keegan is out with an analyst note this morning, where they reiterate their Outperform rating on shares of Cooper Companies COO; they have a $45 price target on the stock. The analysts cited a conference call with Cooper’s CEO, Robert Weiss, where they were updates on the business. Their take-away was that “the management is making meaningful investments to drive top-line growth and that further gross margin expansion remains on tap. With fundamentals remaining solid and the potential for EPS upside, we would purchase the stock at current levels.” They noted, “2010 remains an investment year for Cooper with an expansion of the CVI salesforce by more than 10%. This should bode well for 2011 revenue growth and rising FCF which could approach $160-$170 million.” The company also reiterated that gross margin is on track for 59%-61% in 2011 vis-à-vis 58%-60% in 2010.