UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Upgrades Zeltiq Aesthetics on Good Upside from Current Levels

In a report published Monday, Goldman Sachs analyst David H. Roman upgraded the rating on Zeltiq Aesthetics ZLTQ from Neutral to Buy, and raised the price target from $8.40 to $12.00. In the report, Goldman Sachs noted, “We are upgrading shares of ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc. (ZLTQ) to Buy from Neutral and raising our 12-month price target to $12 from $8.40, representing approximately 29% upside from current levels. Following a significant executive management overhaul in 2012 and a series of fits and starts since the IPO in October of 2011, the company has now delivered three consecutive quarters of consensus-besting sales results – a trend which we expect to continue. Having implemented robust sales and marketing changes, including a restructured sales force, new market intelligence platforms, co-op advertising, and a focus on driving utilization improvements at patient/practice levels, we see new management's initiatives as in the early stages of success. We revise our model to reflect improving sales growth, greater gross margin expansion, and reduced cash burn. Despite ZLTQ shares being up 101% ytd, shares are still roughly 50% below historical highs, trade at a meaningful discount to peers (2.8X 2014E EV/sales vs. peers at 3.9X), and should rally higher on continued solid execution.” Zeltiq Aesthetics closed on Friday at $9.30.