UPDATE: Compass Point Downgrades Cardtronics to Neutral, Reiterates $36 PT on Valuation

In a report published Tuesday, Compass Point analyst Douglas Greiner downgraded the rating on Cardtronics CATM from Buy to Neutral, but reiterated the $36.00 price target. In the report, Compass Point noted, “We downgrade our rating from Buy to Neutral on valuation. On November 5th, 2012 we upgraded the shares at $25.27 due to what we considered to be overblown concerns surrounding interchange headwinds. As we anticipated, earnings strength was not disrupted and the shares have since recovered all related lost ground. Moreover, investor focus has now shifted to the growth prospects for the core business, where the outlook is robust (we model 12% EPS CAGR over the 2012-2015 period). While we continue to favor the company's differentiated ATM owner / operator business model over the long term, with the shares now trading at 15.5x our estimate of 2015 earnings, the company's growth prospects through 2015 now appear largely priced.” Cardtronics closed on Monday at $34.98.