Piper Jaffray Reiterates Wright Express Overweight Rating

According to Piper Jaffray, Wright Express WXS Overweight rating is reiterated. Piper Jaffray said that it is reiterating its OW rating on WXS ahead of 1Q earnings. “The steady rise in gas prices will benefit WXS's unhedged earnings, increasing the likelihood of upside to our EPS estimates (11% potential upside to our '12 estimate). We acknowledge that higher gas prices put pressure on economic activity and could slow our fleet fuel transaction growth forecast. Still, we believe the current level of gas prices will drive a net benefit to '11/'12 earnings as key macro indicators suggest the U.S. economy is managing through the higher gas prices. Plus, WXS continues to grow its non-fleet fuel card businesses (MasterCard, prepaid) and international. With the shares trading at 15.2x/12.6x our '11/'12 EPS estimates, which imply 20%/21% growth, WXS's shares are attractive relative to its growth rate and peer, FLT, in our view.” Wright Express closed yesterday at $50.59.