Wunderlich Has Sell Rating On Itron

Wunderlich Securities is out with a research report on Itron, Inc. ITRI and it has a Sell rating and a $40 price target on shares. In a note to clients, Wunderlich Securities writes, "While Itron, Inc. (ITRI) has a significant backlog, we believe the continued decline in new construction will exacerbate the rolloff of stimulus funds and this will result in revenue declining over the next 12 months despite consensus estimates showing a mild increase. Current consensus estimates implicitly assume that new meter sales continue at a stimulus level pace of 1.5 million to 2.0 million each quarter despite pre-stimulus levels of 0.75 million to 0.85 million. We reiterate our Sell rating on ITRI shares." Shares of ITRI closed at $49.25 yesterday.