Piper Jaffray Maintains Rating, PT On AGO

Piper jaffray is maintaining its Overweight rating and its $25 price target on Assured Guaranty AGO following strong 1Q11 results. Says Piper Jaffray, in its report, “AGO reported 1Q11 operating EPS of $1.33 compared to our estimate of $0.87. The upside relative to our estimate resulted from significantly lower L&LAE on higher rep and warranty recoveries and higher earned premium. New business struggled in the quarter due to historically low new issuances. In our view, a host of catalysts are in front of the company and with shares trading at a significant discount to operating book value, we reiterate Overweight.” AGO closed at $16.62 yesterday.