Stifel Nicolaus Maintains Hold on WebMD

Stifel Nicolaus reiterates its Hold rating on WebMD

to reflect weak fundamentals in light an FDA comment on biopharma's use of internet and social media. Stifel Nicolaus says, " In our view, the release of draft guidance for public comment marks an important milestone in the FDA's relationship with biopharma advertisers. Nevertheless, we believe that several quarters will lapse before such guidance becomes actual protocol and thus helps recharge the secular shift from offline advertising toward the digital channel among biopharma advertisers. We believe that WebMD's fundamentals will likely remain weak for the next several quarters. We maintain our belief that 4Q11 and 1Q12 results will provide greater clarity as to the possibility of a fundamental turnaround in FY12." WBMD closed at $38.10 per share on Tuesday.