UPDATE: Stifel Nicolaus Reiterates Buy Rating, Lowers PT on International Business Machines Corp. Ahead of Wednesday Report

In a report published Friday, Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Grossman reiterated a Buy rating on

, but lowered the price target from $240.00 to $237.00. In the report, Stifel Nicolaus noted, “IBM is scheduled to report Wednesday 7/17 after the close. While our longer term thesis remains positive, there is near term risk. Given IBM's relatively defensive business model, the disappointing 1Q result raised questions whether IBM's miss was cyclical versus secular. While the debate continues and there are always secular challenges, the vast majority 1Q reports from the large enterprise players were weak as well suggesting pressure was broad based across the segment. Unfortunately, the early reporters in 2Q have not improved much (ORCL (covered by our Colleague Brad Reback, Buy $31.86) and ACN (Buy, $75.20)), which begs the question whether IBM and other enterprise vendors can still hit their targets for 2Q and the year. We believe IBM will maintain its EPS target of $16.70, although visibility has diminished.” International Business Machines Corp. closed on Thursday at $192.80.