Piper Jaffray Initiates Neutral Rating on Dun & Bradstreet (DNB)

Piper Jaffray is out with an analyst note this morning where they place a Neutral rating on shares of Dun & Bradstreet DNB; they have an $80.00 price target on the stock. Piper cited the company’s attractive business model, where “D&B is actively converting its revenues from a transaction based to a subscription-based offering, adding visibility and stickiness to its business model.” They said that they also like the company’s “leveraged operating model, defined by its ability to benefit all three of its business segments with a single investment in the DUNSRight database and the low marginal cost required to scale.” In regards the earnings, analysts said that, in the near-term, growth will be modest, but they expect cash EPS growth to accelerate in 2012 as “spending levels moderate and revenues benefit from product upgrades.” They said that “current valuation looks fair given near-term earnings pressures.”