UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Upgrades Nuvasive to Market Perform, Raises PT

In a report published Friday, BMO Capital Markets upgraded its rating on Nuvasive

from Underperform to Market Perform, and raised its price target from $15.00 to $17.00. BMO Capital Markets noted, “As we enter 2013, we anticipate that shares of NUVA will bounce in 1Q13 and possibly into the 2Q13, and are upgrading them to Market Perform from Underperform. However, the spine market continues to be difficult and growth slow (we project the spine market was up 0.8% ex-FX in 2012. It takes a while for new sales people to gain traction, and speed bumps do not appear to be abating (e.g., PODs, reimbursement, Medtronic litigation).” Nuvasive closed on Thursday at $16.09.