Jefferies upgrades Intuit, Janney lifts price target ahead of company’s 3rd-quarter report
By APTuesday, May 18, 2010
Analysts praise Intuit ahead of 3rd-quarter report
NEW YORK — Shares of Intuit Inc. got a boost Tuesday from two positive analyst reports issued a day ahead of the finance software company’s fiscal third-quarter report.
Jefferies & Co. analyst Ross MacMillan upgraded Intuit to “Buy” from “Hold” and raised his price target by $10 to $45, citing the TurboTax maker’s strong tax season.
Last month, Intuit said use of TurboTax rose 10 percent as consumers prepared their tax returns in the first few months of the year.
“We were caught short on the strength of the consumer tax business,” MacMillan said, but said that Intuit’s stock price “isn’t quite as attractive as hoped.”
Shares of Intuit are up more than 17 percent since the start of the year.
MacMillan wrote in a note to clients that he also sees potential in QuickBooks, Intuit’s small business accounting software. He noted that employment is growing and small business spending is improving. Intuit’s small business payments unit also has potential for significant acceleration as the economy picks up, as does its employee management software business.
Other bright spots for Intuit are its Mint.com unit, which has already posted “very impressive” growth, international opportunities and its health care division. Intuit said last week it will buy Medfusion, a company that makes software that enables doctors and patients to communicate.
MacMillan expects Intuit to post third-quarter profit of $1.84 per share on $1.56 billion in revenue.
Separately, Janney Capital Markets analyst Sasa Zorovic raised his price target by $1 to $40 and reiterated a “Buy” rating. He expects the company to post third-quarter earnings of $1.85 per share on $1.57 billion revenue.
Zorovic also pointed to Mint.com’s potential, strengthening momentum for QuickBooks, health care and international growth potential. He also pointed to “management’s disciplined focus on costs.”
On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect profit of $1.82 per share on revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter ended in April.
Intuit forecast adjusted earnings between $1.75 and $1.85 per share and revenue between $1.51 billion and $1.59 billion.
In afternoon trading, Intuit shares added 64 cents to $36.71.
