UPDATE: Bank of America Initiates Cepheid at Buy on Prospects, Platform

Bank of America initiated coverage on Cepheid

with a Buy rating and a $40 price objective. Bank of America noted, "With one of the largest available test menus and more on the way, CPHD's prospects for increasing its installed base and reagent pull-through is positive, as it will become increasingly difficult for customers to justify supporting multiple platforms that run a limited number of tests. As more labs convert to MDx testing, we see CPHD as well positioned to grow. Moreover, our checks suggest that CPHD should see some success as it engages the MDx heavyweights in more established segments of the market (eg, CT/NG)." Cepheid closed at $32.63 on Thursday.