Bank of America Merrill Lynch Reiterates Underperform Rating, $18 PT on Pan American Silver

In a report published Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Underperform rating and $18.00 price target on Pan American Silver Corp.

. BofA Merrill Lynch noted, “Pan American reported Q2'12 net earnings of $44 million ($0.29/sh) vs. earnings of $113 million ($1.04/sh) in Q2'11. Excluding several one-time items, Pan American reported adjusted earnings of $17.1 million ($0.11/sh) in Q2'12 vs. $75.4 million ($0.70/sh) a year ago. We and Consensus were at Q2'12 EPS of $0.37 and $0.33. The negative adjusted EPS variance in Q2'12 was due to silver and gold sales being 0.7 million and 5,800 ozs less than produced (-11% & -18%) in the quarter and a $9.6 million negative provisional pricing adjustment. The Q2'12 tax rate of 35% was above our 29% forecast for Q2'12.” Pan American Silver Corp. closed on Tuesday at $15.38.