UPDATE: Cantor Fitzgerald Upgrades Obagi Medical Products to Buy; Advisory Fees May Signal M&A Event

Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Obagi Medical Products (NASDAQ: OMPI) from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $15.00 to $19.00.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Irina Rivkind commented, "We think Obagi remains an attractive target in a space rife with consolidation. Management's "advisor" disclosure coupled with a potentially win-able proxy contest may heighten investor anticipation of an M&A event and we view management's nervousness about competition as conducive to a deal. We therefore incorporate a 50% probability of company takeout in the $21 range (4x 2013 sales) into our valuation which results in our upgrade and blended $19 PT."

Obagi Medical Products closed at $13.94 on Thursday.

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