Piper Jaffray Reiterates Neutral on Lumber Liquidators (LL)

Piper Jaffray is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Neutral rating on Lumber Liquidators LL; it also lowered its price target to $26.00, from $30.00. The PJ analysts said that when the company announces earnings on August 4th, investors should expect an estimated 5% comp and $0.31 vs. consensus of $0.32. They added that they continue to believe LL represents “one of the best” unit growth stories in their entire coverage universe. However, they lowered the price target on the stock to come inline with their F11E EPS growth rate. They also noted that ticket stabilization is a key catalyst for the stock, which has continued to fall for eight consecutive quarters. As for valuation, they said, “We are maintaining our Neutral rating but lowering our price target to $26 based on our F11E EPS growth rate of 18x and F11E EPS of $1.43. Our previous PT of $30 was based on 21x FY11E EPS.”