Equinix Investors Rewarded After Stifel Unveils Bullish Thesis

Equinix Inc EQIX investors are getting rewarded on Tuesday.

The REIT was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a "hold" to a "buy" rating. The firm has issued a $340.00 price objective on the stock; shares rose in response to the ratings change.

Stifel's price target indicates a potential upside of 14.83 percent from Equinix's current price; it noted that the company's combination of "strong organic growth and accretive M&A" can be a driver of solid AFFO per share growth this year. 

"Dress rehearsal over, time to take center stage," the firm added.

Research analysts at Stifel still view the stock as "attractively valued" based on analysts' recently updated AFFO estimates, accounting for Telecity and Bit-isle acquisitions.

"The shares trade at ~15x AFFO (14x peer avg.) and 13x EBITDA (in-line) based on our 2017 estimates. We expect EQIX to retain a premium multiple moving forward given our outlook for above-peer AFFO/sh growth, expanding margins, and significant competitive advantages relating to its global scale and carrier-dense footprint," Stifel added.

Other Key Points To Watch Going Forward

Here is an additional breakdown of Stifel's key points:

• Infrastructure Solutions, Corrpro, and Energy Services are poised for a solid year: Stifel also sees headwinds for an estimated 17 percent of Aegion sales tied to the upstream oil and gas market.
• The Street is underestimating the drag that lower oil prices: The firm believes Wall Street is underestimating the resistance it will have on Aegion results in 2016 and 2017.
• Stifel introduces a 2016 EPS estimate: The firm introduced a 2016 EPS estimate of $1.30, 7.3 percent below the consensus estimate of $1.40.