UPDATE: Benchmark Upgrades Liquidity Services; Raises PT

According to a research report published earlier today, Benchmark has upgraded Liquidity Services LQDT from Hold to Buy and has increased PT from $41 to $57. In the report, Benchmark commented, “We estimate F2Q (March) GMV may come in around $218 million, almost $50 million ahead of the mid-point of guidance. We believe that market expansion is the primary driver of growth and expect further market penetration gains, particularly in the Commercial and GovDeals segments. We are raising our F2Q12, FY12 and FY13 estimates to reflect the F2Q outperformance and additional projected future growth due to the network effect, but suspect there may still be upside to our numbers. Furthermore, valuation at 12x our revised FY13 EBITDA versus ecommerce peers at 11x appears more reasonable given superior growth, margins and the enhanced outlook.” Liquidity Services closed yesterday at $46.71.