Piper Jaffray Examines McGraw-Hill Amid Department of Justice Investigation

Piper Jaffray has published a research report on McGraw-Hill Companies MHP after the Department of Justice initiated investigations into S&P's rating of mortgage securities during the subprime crisis. In the report, Piper Jaffray wrote, "The NY Times reports that the Department of Justice is investigating whether S&P improperly rated mortgage securities, with an apparent focus on whether ratings analysts were overruled on ratings proposals by other S&P business managers. The implication is that profit motivations drove specific ratings decisions, rather than analytical considerations." Piper Jaffray rated McGraw-Hill an Overweight with a price target of $49.00. McGraw-Hill closed Wednesday at $40.05.