UPDATE: Jefferies Downgrades Cepheid to Hold on Persistent Volatility

In a report published on Friday, Jefferies analyst Brandon Couillard downgraded Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD) from Buy to Hold and maintained a price target of $38.00.

In the report, Jefferies noted, "CPHD has placed >1,000 systems in HBDC (high burden & developing countries) markets, which now account for ~25% of its global installed base. We forecast $45M & $57M (+26%) of HBDC revenues in 2013 & 2014, respectively, which conservatively factors a flat reagent annuity trend. With only ~60% of eligible countries on board, incremental HBDC-related revenues should continue to augment CPHD's core growth trajectory for the foreseeable future, though quarterly volatility is likely to persist until the program matures to scale."

Cepheid closed on Thursday at $36.62.