Piper Jaffray Raised PT Following Nanosphere (NSPH) Q1

Piper Jaffray maintains a Neutral rating on Nanosphere (NASDAQ: NSPH), and raised the price target to $3.50 (from $0.30), following 1Q beat. NSPH reported revenue of 4.6M, beating estimates of $4.3M. Adjusted EPS of ($1.20) was above Piper Jaffray's reverse split adjusted ($1.57) estimate, and ($1.79) Street estimate.

Piper Jaffray analyst, William Quirk, commented on the quarter, saying, "Nanosphere reported a 1Q15 revenue increase of 40.7% to $4.6M, above our $4.3M and Street consensus' $4.5M estimate. Growth was driven by continued uptake of its gram + and gram- blood culture tests (+100% yoy). Additionally, Nanosphere reconfirmed full year revenue guidance of $18M-$20M. Nanosphere entered into a direct offering of $4.4M in convertible preferred stock, issued common stock warrants to purchase ~1.2M shares (~$4.4M) as well as signed a commitment letter for a new $30M debt facility. Nanosphere will draw down an initial $20M from the new facility (~12% per annum) and will retire $8.9M of outstanding debt (9.25% per annum). While the transactions
remove some near-term concerns, given current cash burn and limited visibility into cash flow breakeven, we believe the company will need to issue additional debt and/or further dilute shareholders in the near-to-mid term. We remain Neutral on NSPH shares."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Nanosphere click here. For more ratings news on Nanosphere click here.

Shares of Nanosphere closed at $4.07 yesterday.

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