SAN FRANCISCO, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Merriman Capital, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc. MERR, initiated equity research coverage on Crossroads Systems, Inc. CRDS ($5.84) last week with a Buy rating.

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Crossroads Systems is a storage technology company with a strong background in storage routing protocols and tape storage fundamentals, in particular. The Company's new StrongBox® interactive tape archive platform opens up a huge new market. StrongBox incorporates the Linear Tape File System (LTFS) developed by IBM and is compatible with Linear Tape-Open (LTO) Ultrium cartridge media for high-capacity and fast data access.

Research analyst, Joel Achramowicz, summarized in his initiation report:

Crossroads Systems revenues are expected to just about double by 2013 due to the recent launch of its exciting StrongBox® interactive tape archive platform, which is receiving significant interest in the market. We are initiating coverage of the Company's shares with a Buy rating and a $7.50 target price. Our target price is obtained by applying a 4.2-times multiple of the smoothed average of our projected FY2012 and FY2013 revenues. We expect the Company to be profitable in its 2013 fiscal year--and, perhaps sooner if StrongBox sales accelerate at a faster clip.

Members of the media can obtain a copy of this Merriman Capital research report by e-mailing editorial@merrimanco.com.

About Merriman Capital, Inc.

Merriman Capital, Inc. is an investment banking firm providing equity and options execution services, market making, and differentiated research for high growth companies. The firm also provides capital raising, advisory, and M&A services. Merriman Capital, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc. MERR and is the leading investment banking firm for OTCQX companies. For more information, please go to http://www.merrimanco.com/.

Merriman Capital, Inc. is a registered broker-dealer and member of The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) http://www.finra.org/ and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) http://www.sipc.org.

Note to Investors

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to buy any securities of the Company. Forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially from those stated or implied in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business, which include the risk factors disclosed in our Form 10-K filed on March 30, 2012. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," and "would" or similar words. We assume no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The Form 10-K filed on March 30, 2012, together with this press release and the financial information contained herein, are available on our website, www.merrimanco.com. Please click on "Investor Relations."

Important Disclosures

This research has been prepared by Merriman Capital, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc. Some companies Merriman Capital, Inc. follows are emerging growth companies whose securities typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies.

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Specific Disclosures

Key to investment Rankings (expected total share price return inclusive of dividend reinvestment, if applicable)

• Buy: Merriman Capital, Inc. expects the stock price to appreciate 10% or more over the next 12 months. Initiate or increase position.
• Neutral: Merriman Capital, Inc. believes the stock price is fairly valued at current levels. Maintain position or take no action.
• Sell: Merriman Capital, Inc. expects the stock price to depreciate over the next 12 months. Sell or decrease position.

This press release is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or solicitation to buy the securities or other instruments of the company mentioned.

SOURCE Merriman Holdings, Inc.