UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Pleased with LHC Group's Review of Strategic Alternatives; Raises PT

According to a research report published earlier today, Piper Jaffray is happy with LHC Group Inc.'s LHCG decision to announce that its Board of Directors and management are reviewing strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value. In the report, Piper Jaffray commented, “The company has engaged J.P. Morgan as its financial adviser and Alston & Bird, LLP as its legal counsel for this process. While no specific timeframe or details have been set, we believe LHCG is well positioned to enhance value and could garner the interest of strategic or financial buyers. We estimate a potential take-out value for LHCG's equity could be $20 to $23 using relatively conservative assumptions on our FY12 EBITDA estimate. We reiterate our Overweight rating and increase our PT to $20 from $15.” LHC Group closed yesterday at $17.13.