UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Downgrades Covance to Neutral

Goldman Sachs lowers its rating on Covance CVD to Neutral from Buy and lowers its price target to $46 from $54 on unstable business trends and operating expense increases that may postpone growth. Goldman Sachs says, "Our midNovember upgrade was based on what we thought was sufficiently reset 2012 estimates coupled with what appeared to be stabilized fundamentals. With 4Q results, CVD detailed its significant IT spending plans, which will hamper organic growth not only in 2012 but 2013 as well. Beyond this, the reversal in preclinical trends changes our trajectory with late-stage still volatile. Net for net, this now becomes a 2014 story and with a 17.5X P/E, we think share performance will be limited." CVD closed at $47.15 a share on Wednesday.