J.P. Morgan Previews Itron's Earnings (ITRI)

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is previewing Itron, Inc. ITRI earnings. It has a $95 price target and an Overweight rating on shares. In a note to clients, J.P. Morgan writes, "We expect 4Q results to align with expectations and for FY11 guidance to align with our above-consensus forecast. According to our checks, ITRI's four major AMI programs remain on track with our expectations. We believe investors will be focused on ITRI's reported backlog, which we expect to remain flat against the $958mm reached at 3Q. There is downside risk to backlog, but we believe the risk is largely priced into the stock, which trades close to 5-year lows on a P/E and EV/EBITDA basis. We expect encouraging commentary regarding the pending commercial release of the IPv6 AMI solution as well as expected timing of large European contracts." Shares of ITRI closed at $57.83 on Friday.