Piper Jaffray Downgrades THOR To Neutral From OW, PT Drops To $27

Piper Jaffray is lowering its investment opinion on Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ: THOR) from Overweight to Neutral.

“Based on the company's 2011 revenue outlook, near term growth prospects in the underlying VAD market may be slower than we had expected,” Piper Jaffray writes. “Coupled with a new competitive entrant into the U.S. BTT market later this year, Thoratec's revenue growth could be sub-10% over the next 2 years.

“While we are ardent believers of the market potential of VADs, based on Thoratec's near to medium term topline growth prospects, we think it's difficult to apply a premium multiple on the stock. Reducing price target from $40 to $27.”

Thoratec Corporation closed Thursday at $26.13.