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NEW YORK (AP) -- Analysts predicted Wednesday that 3Par Inc., which had its initial public offering last month, will take a larger share of the data storage market because of the quality of its products. Three analysts began covering Fremont, Calif.-based 3Par on Wednesday. Kevin Hunt of Thomas Weisel Partners and Thomas Curlin of RBC Capital Markets gave the company "Buy"-equivalent ratings, while Goldman Sachs analyst Laura Conigliaro assigned a "Neutral" rating. Hunt called 3Par a pioneer in storage, predicting its margins will grow over the next three to five years. He set a price target of $22. "3Par has survived and thrived with impressive wins against larger and more established vendors," he said. He described its products as easy to use and reasonably priced, and said businesses should be able to easily expand their storage networks with 3Par products. He said the market for 3Par's products should grow 40 percent over the next few years, to $12.1 billion in 2011. Curlin set a price target of $18 per share on the stock, which has traded between $11.75 and $17.99 since its IPO on Nov. 16. Shares closed at $14.27 Monday. Conigliaro agreed that 3Par should see strong growth, but she said businesses may cut technology spending in the coming quarters. She added that 3Par depends heavily on a few major customers right now and will rely on large deals, meaning its quarterly results may be hard to predict. She set a price target of $15.50 per share.
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