UPDATE: Jefferies Raises Price Target On DexCom Following Earnings (DXCM)

Jefferies & Co. is raising its price target on shares of DexCom (NASDAQ: DXCM) to $19.50 from $17 following earnings. It has a Buy rating on shares.In a note to investors, Jefferies writes, "DexCom reported total revenues of $14.2mn, slightly below consensus of $14.7mn and our $14.8mn forecast. Revenues were comprised of $13.1mn of product revenues and $1.0mn of grant revenues. Loss per share of ($0.19) was in line with consensus but shy of our estimate of ($0.17). The company added more than 4,000 patients in the quarter reflecting approximately 55% growth in patient additions over last year. The additions in 1Q were lower than 4Q but in general, 1Q is a challenging quarter due to the economic seasonality as patients' insurance deductibles reset. As such the sequentially weaker result was expected and in fact turned out to be a bit better than forecast. It appears that sensor utilization dropped modestly; whether this is just normal fluctuation or a reflection of the new insurance landscape is difficult to say. With deductibles fulfilled, we model sequential quarterly growth in patient additions resuming in 2Q and sensor utilization returning to higher levels."Shares of DXCM closed at $16.50 yesterday.