UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Raises Target on Sourcefire to $46

Stifel Nicolaus reiterates its Buy rating on Sourcefire

and raises its target price $7 to $46 as strong results for Q4 point to strengthening fundamentals. Stifel Nicolaus says, "From a growth perspective, we believe the results reflect continued momentum, solid execution, and provide evidence that the significant investments Sourcefire has been making are yielding results. We believe that the EPS upside driven by margin expansion demonstrates that margin improvement is returning as a component of the story and that Sourcefire will continue to balance investing for growth while demonstrating operating leverage. Overall, we walked away from the quarter with increased confidence in a more positive 2012 story for Sourcefire." FIRE closed at $35.82 on Tuesday.