Verisk’s Acquisitions to Boost Long Term Growth

Michael A Meltz of JP Morgan initiated coverage of Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ: VRSK) with an “overweight” rating. The target price is set to $35.

VRSK is a leading provider of risk management solutions and analytics that are used by insurance, mortgage and healthcare companies. VRSK’s acquisitions of faster-growing Decision Analytics properties has diversified its portfolio and helped in expanding its addressable market. JP Morgan believes that this acquisition would boost VRSK’s growth in the long term.

According to JP Morgan, Verisk Analytics EBITDA margins have more than tripled over the past ten years. JP Morgan said that VRSK’s subscription-based provided less leverage to the company in times of recovery in the economic environment. Moreover, property and casualty insurers continued to be VRSK’s major clients, despite diversification.