Stifel Nicolaus Maintains Buy on Polypore After Settlement Announcement

In a report published Monday, Stifel analyst Jeffrey Osborne maintained a Buy rating on Polypore International, Inc. PPO, with a $47.00 price target.

According to the report, “On Friday after the close, Polypore announced a settlement and license agreement with Sumitomo (no financial details were provided) regarding the licensing of IP by Sumitomo for ceramic coatings used in lithium ion batteries. We note that Panasonic was mentioned as a customer of Sumitomo's using the infringed IP in the February 2013 legal filing. We believe Tesla (TSLA; Hold; $151.12, covered by our colleague Jamie Albertine) is one of Panasonic's largest customers using the format of battery (18650) mentioned in the filing. While we have no way of quantifying the impact of this agreement, we view it as a long term positive for the company as they maintain their leadership in the market.”

The reported noted some potential risks may included:
-The target price for any security not being realized.
-Large concentration of shareholdings.
-High leverage.
-Large U.S. customer concentration.
-Slower-than-expected EV adoptions.
-Potential for dilutive equity.

PPO closed Friday at $38.01.