UPDATE: Citigroup Initiates Yahoo! at Buy on Attractive Valuation, Near-Term Catalysts

In a report published Wednesday, Citigroup analyst Mark May initiated coverage on Yahoo! YHOO with a Buy rating and $30.00 price target.

In the report, Citigroup noted, “Given the attractive valuation and what we see as near-term catalysts in the expected IPO of AG and potentially additional large repurchases, as well as the optionality represented in a possible core Yahoo! turnaround and/or liquidity of the Yahoo! Japan stake, we are initiating coverage of YHOO with a Buy rating. Our 12-month price target of $30 represents 18% above from current levels and is based on our sum-of-the-parts analysis of core Yahoo!, Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan that we view as reasonable, if not conservative(see Figure 7). Our upside scenarios derive price targets in the $30-35 range.”

Yahoo! closed on Tuesday at $26.67.