FBR Capital Downgrades Atheros To Market Perform, $45 PT

FBR Capital Markets has published a research report on Atheros Communications

and has downgraded the company from Outperform to Market Perform. In the report, FBR Capital writes, "With Qualcomm's acquisition of Atheros imminent, we are downgrading ATHR from Outperform to Market Perform and are maintaining our $45 price target. Atheros' shareholders have approved the deal, valued at roughly $3.3 billion, and we think this deal will close without incident at the agreed-upon price, and without another bidder surfacing. While some investors have complained that Atheros' management sold too cheaply and left too much upside on the table, selling now does eliminate all risks related to Atheros' smaller scale and product development budgets versus competitors like Broadcom. Finally, we would note that remaining Wi-Fi competitors are now facing a less competitive field following Qualcomm's acquisition of Atheros and Mediatek's acquisition of Ralink, particularly positive for Broadcom and Realtek, in our view." FBR Capital has also established a $45 price target on Atheros Communications, which closed yesterday at $44.85.