UPDATE: Ladenburg Thalmann Initiates Layne Christensen with Buy, $25 PT; Challenges Baked Into Shares Already

Ladenburg Thalmann initiates its coverage on Layne Christensen

with a Buy rating and a price target of $25. Ladenburg Thalmann says, "We recognize our BUY rating is a somewhat contrarian call on this stock. Layne is a quintessential rebuilding story, and has all the characteristics of a stock that deserves to be unloved. …Yet this is all “baked in”, and a defensive balance sheet shields downside risk, in our view. In our opinion, LAYN's balance sheet positions the company to weather further potential economic weakness in coming years. The stock is also historically cheap, trading at just 0.9x tangible book value." LAYN closed at $19.50 on Monday.