Piper Jaffray Downgrading Comverge (COMV)

Piper Jaffray is downgrading shares of Comverge, Inc. COMV to Neutral, and is taking down its price target to $7 from $10. In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray writes, "We are lowering our rating on COMV shares to Neutral and lowering our price target to $7 as we are concerned that competition (attracted to the MW growth in demand response) will weigh on profitability in the sector. With the potential for weak PJM pricing at the upcoming auction, we believe investor sentiment is likely to turn negative. Separately, Comverge has fallen behind its C&I salesforce targets and thermostat recall issues will hinder 1H11 growth. COMV shares don't look expensive, but we struggle to identify the next major catalyst to expand valuations." Shares of COMV lost 7 cents yesterday to close at $6.67.