Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates Hold Rating, $38 PT on Cepheid

In a report published Friday, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated its Hold rating and $38.00 price target on Cepheid

. Cantor Fitzgerald noted, “CPHD continues to hit on target new product launches with the FDA clearance of the Xpert CT/NG test (announced yesterday after the close) before year-end 2012. The CT/NG test, which was launched in Europe (May 2012) and will begin shipping in January in the U.S., represents the first high-volume testing opportunity for CPHD and a meaningful growth driver medium-term, in our view. We are currently modeling ~$35mm contribution from new product launches in 2013 (including CT/NG, MTB/RIF in the U.S., Vaginitis, etc.) representing ~11% of our 20% top-line growth projection for 2013. With hospital capex spending and sustainable margin execution as our primary concerns near-term, we are maintaining our $38 PT and HOLD rating.” Cepheid closed on Thursday at $32.70.