Piper Jaffray Maintains Neutral on J.C. Penney

Piper Jaffray is out with its report today on J.C. Penney JCP, maintaining Neutral. In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray writes, "On Tuesday, J.C. Penney announced the hiring of Ron Johnson as CEO effective Nov. 1. We have a highly favorable view of this announcement as Johnson brings a track record of innovation during his time at both Apple and Target to J.C. Penney. We believe Johnson has the potential to reinvent the department store model and a focus on improving the customer experience could expand the company's customer base and drive top line growth above current estimates and the company's goals. While we are maintaining our estimates and price target, we believe the announcement bodes well for the long term outlook for the company." Piper Jaffray maintains a $37 PT on JCP. At the time of posting, shares of JCP were trading pre-market at $34.71, down 1.87% from Tuesday's close.