Auriga Downgrades Thoratec (THOR) to Hold

Auriga assumes coverage and downgraded Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR) from Buy Hold but maintain a $30 price target.

The firm states, "THOR reported 1Q11 revenues of $99 . 5MM , slightly shy of our and the consensus estimate of $100.3MM, while GAAP EPS of $0.25 was slightly below the $0.26 consensus. As expected, THOR maintained 2011 guidance. In North America (85% of sales), the VAD market grew 13% sequentially, while growth ex-US moderated sequentially after blistering 4Q10 sequential growth. While THOR delivered a decent quarter and the pipeline continues to advance nicely, we expect increased competition from Heartware (HTWR, Hold) and questions surrounding 2012 growth to start to weigh on the shares. As such, we are reducing our rating to Hold but maintaining our $30 price target."

For more ratings news on Thoratec click here and for the rating history of Thoratec click here.

Shares of Thoratec closed at $31.72 yesterday.

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