UPDATE: Oppenheimer Initiates Fusion-io at Perform Rating on Current Competitive Advantage

In a report published Monday, Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron initiated coverage of Fusion-io Inc.

with a Perform rating. Kidron wrote, "We are initiating coverage on Fusion-io with a Perform rating. We believe Fusionio's first-mover advantage in the PCIe storage market and ability to leverage cheaper, denser cMLC flash are key competitive advantages that still stand. That said, we're concerned with the potential negative impact of rising competition (EMC, Intel, Virident) on the company's sale cycles and view its customer concentration (Apple/Facebook ~50% of sales) as a permanent overhang until mitigated. And given that back-half FY2013 estimates appear to set a high bar for Fusion-io's core enterprise business, we'd rather wait until estimates reset and competitive headwinds are better understood before revisiting our view." Fusion-io closed Monday at $16.30.

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