Both Deutsche Bank and Canaccord Adams are reiterating their Buy rating on Itron (ITRI) ahead of earnings after the bell tomorrow. Both raised the price target from $80 to $85.
Deutsche believes Itron’s Q1 results will exceed expectations and that “improving macro trends were only partially offset by FX (3% Q/Q) and Cu headwinds.”
Canaccord said, “In short, Itron is beginning to benefit from much better OpenWay capacity utilization, as customers look to notably accelerate deployments and the International business stabilizes…Just as important, with a rapidly growing OpenWay installed base and multi-year visibility, the company has been moving aggressively in the market recently to change the discussion surrounding open RFPs (e.g., SoCal Gas), which we believe positions the company nicely to win further, sizable Smart Grid business in the coming quarters.”