UPDATE: Wedbush Upgrades Atmel Corporation to Outperform, Raises PT on Multiple Positive Factors

In a report published Thursday, Wedbush analyst Betsy Van Hees upgraded the rating on

from Neutral to Outperform, and raised the price target from $7.00 to $9.00. In the report, Wedbush noted, “We believe with (1) DOI back to target model, (2) core MCU showing remarkable resiliency in a tough market, (3) pro forma GM expansion set to accelerate in 2014, and (4) expectations sensibly reset for XSense to provide meaningful revenue contributions in 2014 that Atmel's house is back in order and the headwinds that hampered the stock in 2013 will likely be tailwinds in 2014. We upgrade Atmel to an OUTPERFORM rating (from NEUTRAL), increase our PT to $9 (from $7), and recommend investors take advantage of the recent pullback to buy shares. Our new 12-month PT of $9 (from $7) is based upon about 14x our 2014 pro forma EPS estimate of $0.60 (from $0.50) plus $0.63 (from $0.53) of cash per share.” Atmel Corporation closed on Wednesday at $6.58.