Piper Jaffray Comments On Vital Images Inc.

Vital Images Inc. VTAL shares were down 5% yesterday amid concerns of the Company's exposure to the Japanese market. Although Toshiba is a major source of revenue for the Company, Toshiba primarily markets their own advanced visualization system in the Japanese market. Hence the Company's exposure to the Japanese market is quite limited. Piper Jaffray recommends buying the shares for a near-term profit. There is no change to its Neutral rating and $15 PT on VTAL.

Toshiba hardly markets the VTAL product in their home market, instead they market their own systems in the home market. They do sell VTAL software with their high end Aquilion One scanner, but that represents a small fraction of the overall revenue. The majority of VTAL's Asia/Pacific revenues stem from China. Piper Jaffray's check with management yesterday stated that their business partners in Japan are up and running, with the only issue on the horizon being rolling blackouts.

VTAL closed Monday at $13.33