UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Downgrades Ann to Underweight

Piper Jaffray lowers its rating on Ann

to Underweight from Neutral and lowers its price target to $21 from $25 as margin issues could linger ahead. Piper Jaffray says, "We are downgrading ANN shares from Neutral to Underweight and lowering our price target from $25 to $21 following the company's announcement that FQ4 is expected to come in significantly below expectations. It appears that Ann Taylor is being negatively impacted by an intensely competitive promotional environment, and we believe that optimistic inventory levels and tepid demand for women's specialty apparel could put further pressure on gross margin throughout FY13 (2012)." ANN closed at $24.56 a share on Wednesday.