Piper Jaffray Remains Neutral On CONMED Corp. (CNMD

Piper Jaffray is maintaining its Neutral rating and $24 price target on CONMED Corp. CNMD. In a note sent to clients, Piper Jaffray writes, "ConMed's long-awaited approval of the company's tissue sealing device is a positive for the stock and should position the company to begin chipping away at this new $1 billion market segment in 2011 and 2012. The device employs a thermal power source and management claims its cutting features and lower tissue adhesion rates should help the device compete against market leaders JNJ and COV. That said, it remains early and the company will need to demonstrate its ability to convert physicians from competitive devices, and executing on the new revenue opportunity will require some incremental investments in the near term. We remain Neutral on CNMD for now." Shares of CNMD gained 61 cents on Friday to close at $23.71.