Piper Jaffray Comments On Integra LifeSciences Following Earnings

Upside to Integra LifeSciences IART Q4 EPS was welcome, but guidance came across a touch more conservative than investors were expecting given management's long-term growth goals framed out at the company's analyst meeting in November. The stock reaction notwithstanding, Piper Jaffray sees no change in management's long term expectations, and it views 2011 guidance as prudently positioned given uncertainty facing the European healthcare budgets and the medical device markets in general. Q4 was solid, but the effect was tempered by more modest initial 2011 guidance and the stock reacted accordingly. Given the attractive growth prospects of the company's major businesses and risk-adjusted estimates for Q1 and 2011, Piper is incrementally more constructive on IART post the quarter and the pullback. Management provided 2011 revenue guidance of $765-$780 mil, which implies 4-7% growth, bracketing the low end of management's prior 6% constant currency sales growth target and just below our $783 mil estimate. Pro forma EPS guidance for 2011 is $2.87-$3.02, in-line with Piper's estimate of $2.98 and consensus of $2.99. Piper Jaffray has a $53 PT and Neutral rating on IART