UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Reiterates Neutral Rating, Raises PT on ExlService Holdings on F4Q Results, Investor Day

In a report published Monday, J.P. Morgan reiterated its Neutral rating on ExlService Holdings

, and raised its price target from $32.00 to $34.00. J.P. Morgan noted, “Last Friday, EXLS reported in-line F4Q results and hosted its investor day in NYC. Overall takeaways were positive as EXLS's medium-term growth should accelerate, benefiting from expanding sales force and service/delivery capabilities. Moreover, management commentary on demand environment was more positive than last year (and peers), as the company is seeing healthy build up of large sized contracts in its pipeline. We believe EXLS clearly has the leadership position in the US insurance vertical for BPO services, and is going to increasingly invest in its healthcare/F&A/platforms/analytics businesses over the near term. The company's near-term margins should expand, but we expect steady margins beyond that (already above peers). We are incrementally positive on EXLS but its valuation premium to peers (trades at 18x CY13 estimates vs. WNS/G at 14-17x) keeps us at Neutral.” ExlService Holdings closed on Friday at $31.81.