Stifel Reiterates Rating, Raises Price Target On IDEXX Laboratories On Bullish Diligence

In a report published Friday, Stifel analyst Jonathan Block reiterated a Buy rating on

, and raised the price target from $155.00 to $178.00. In the report, Stifel noted, “In our September 2014 diligence, we surveyed 110 veterinary practices to get a first read on IDEXX's move to an all-direct sales force. In today's report, we follow up with 92 of the same practices to see where sentiment lies four months later. There are many moving parts, but we would focus investor attention on three important takeaways: (1) 96% of respondents have not seen a demo or trialed a competing in-clinic chemistry analyzer in the past 3-6 months. This diligence differs from other reports we have heard in the field. (2) On a scale of 1-10 (1 = very unlikely; 10 = very likely), the likelihood that a practice plans on switching chemistry analyzers in the next 6 months was 1.92, implying that high retention rates among current chemistry customers continues; (3) IDEXX's direct sales approach is having a positive impact on customer utilization. Roughly 32% of IDEXX's 85 customers noted greater sales force interaction in the past three months, and 67% of these accounts are better utilizing at least one IDEXX modality.Our target price increases from $155 to $178.” IDEXX Laboratories closed on Thursday at $158.33.