Stifel Nicolaus Maintains Buy on athenahealth

Stifel Nicolaus is out with its report today on athenahealth ATHN, maintaining Buy. In a note to clients, Stifel Nicolaus writes, "We continue to believe that athena is poised for sustained long term growth. In our view, the long term growth potential, future operating margin expansion and its recurring revenue model are not reflected in the shares' current valuation. The shares trade at a 21% discount to our DCF-based target price. We believe DCF valuation is more useful than P/E." Shares of ATHN closed Tuesday at $45.16.