Morgan Keegan Expects Long-Term Growth for VCA Antech

Morgan Keegan published its report on VCA Antech WOOF after taking a health care field trip to one of VCA Antech's hospitals. In a note to clients, Morgan Keegan writes, "Our core thesis remains that VCA Antech's veterinary services will not rebound until consumer confidence comes back strongly. We believe that investors can wait for stronger consumer confidence, which is highly correlated to same-store revenue growth, before committing to VCA Antech shares. Long term we expect VCA Antech to maintain strong internal growth for its scalable veterinary lab business and internal growth augmented by accretive acquisitions for its animal hospitals. We believe that veterinary services are underpenetrated, providing the company with long-term growth opportunities. The weak economy creates a near-term impediment to growth prospects." Morgan Keegan maintains its Market Perform rating and $18 price target on WOOF. WOOF closed Friday at $23.18.