UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Downgrades IPC The Hospitalist on Valuation Being Ahead of Its Near-Term Fundamentals

In a report published on Tuesday, Piper Jaffray analyst Kevin K. Ellich downgraded IPC The Hospitalist IPCM from Overweight to Neutral and maintained a price target of $50. In the report, Piper Jaffray stated, "With the stock up ~35% YTD and at all-time highs, we think it is a good time to take profits as Q2 and Q3 are seasonally slower. While hospital admissions growth remains pressured, we believe Q2 is tracking in line with our expectations and company guidance for FY13 largely because management did a good job setting realistic expectations for the year. Despite our downgrade, we believe the long-term outlook for the acute and post- acute hospitalist industry remains attractive, even though the stock is ahead of near- term fundamentals." IPC The Hospitalist closed on Monday at $53.38.