Piper Jaffray Reiterates Neutral on THQ Inc. (THQI)

Piper Jaffray is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Neutral rating on THQ Inc. THQI; it has a $5.00 price target on the name. The PJ analysts cited the company’s recent earnings report, which was in-line with its lowered mid-quarter update. Primary drivers of the reduced expectations were due to soft sell-through of UFC Undisputed 2010, and the FX impact of the strengthening dollar. Guidance for Q2 came in well below the Street estimate. The analysts also said that they are not altering estimates for 2011 and 2012 just yet as they expect the March quarter’s revenues to be similar to the December quarter. As for valuation, they remarked, “Our $5 price target is based on 25x FY12 EPS No changes. We maintain a Neutral rating on shares of THQI until we are comfortable there is a more substantial return on a high beta name like THQI.”