Goldman Has Buy On Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPDI)

Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating and a $33 price target on shares of Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. PPDI.

In a note to clients, Goldman writes, "PPD is our only Buy rated CRO. While we have seen a pick-up in clinical bookings across the late-stage providers, PPD is the only CRO that has not been plagued by conversion issues given its larger, more diversified
backlog. What’s more, PPD introduced better-than-expected 2011 guidance in January – in contrast to the disappointing outlooks given by its clinical late-stage peers. Lastly, management recently reversed its historical reluctance to return cash to shareholders by announcing an accelerated share buyback. PPD is attractively valued at 14.8X our CY2012 EPS (vs. group at 14.5X), with no debt and cash per share of $3.41."

Shares of PPDI gained 18 cents yesterday to close at $27.71, a gain of 0.65%.