UPDATE: Dougherty & Company Upgrades Green Mountain Coffee to Buy

Dougherty & Company has published a research report on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters GMCR and has upgraded the company from Neutral to Buy after seeing that Keurig brewing systems and K-Cup demands were strong during the December quarter. In the report, Dougherty writes, "GMCR noted its December quarter brewer unit sales were over half of what it sold in all of 2011 and such growth in the installed base creates challenges in projecting future portion pack demand. We believe the business has surprised GMCR in each of the last three quarters (upside in June and December and downside in September) and it has become increasingly difficult for the company to project its short-term performance. While an admission of lack of predictability is not comforting to investors, that fact that big brewer placements are adding to short-term projection challenges makes sense – there are worse problems to have. Looking back at the last 9 months, GMCR has delivered a cumulative $127 million in upside, or 5%, to our revenue estimates. Demand for the Keurig system remains VERY strong." Dougherty & Company has also established an $80 price target on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which is currently trading up $1.47 from yesterday's $65.78 closing price.