UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Reiterates Fusion-io at Overweight; Competition Investment Validates Space

Piper Jaffray reiterated its Overweight rating and $33 price target on Fusion-io (NYSE: FIO) following investment on Virident by Seagate Technologies (NYSE: STX).

Piper Jaffray commented, "Seagate announced a $40M investment in Virident tonight, which we view as a validation of the overall market opportunity. Virident is the only logical alternative to Fusion-io and this investment likely increases the M&A premium Fusion-io will garner. That said, Virident should now get more "at bats" in this market leveraging Seagate's extensive distribution channel, but it does not change the competitive dynamic. Virident has already received investments from Intel, Cisco, Micron and others, which have not slowed Fusion-io's growth."

Fusion-io closed at $20.54 on Monday.

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