Piper Jaffray Downgrades Alpha And Omega Semiconductor, Raises PT To $14.50 (AOSL)

Piper Jaffray downgraded its Alpha and Omega Semiconductor

rating to Neutral from Overweight and raised Alpha and Omega Semiconductor's price target to $14.50 from $14 in a research report published today. In the report, Piper Jaffray states, "AOSL reported a messy quarter. Backing out the impact of an accounting change to GM, the company missed our operating income line by $1.5M. Earnings were in line with our estimates as higher interest income offset lower operating income. While revenue and gross margin increased due to the acquisition of its partially owned packaging house, the positive impact was offset by higher SG&A to enhance its field support and more R&D to expanded its product line going forward. The company has consistently underestimated its opex and, while we find it commendable to invest in the business, the investment is not likely to drive earnings growth in the next couple of years. We believe that more investment is needed to drive growth as its core PC MOSFET business slows." Shares of Alpha and Omega Semiconductors were at $14.25 in pre-market trading at the time of posting, down 0.90% from Wednesday's market close.