UPDATE: UBS Securities Downgrades Patterson Companies on F2Q14 Preview and Valuation Update

In a report published Wednesday, UBS Securities analyst Steven Valiquette downgraded the rating on Patterson Companies (NASDAQ: PDCO) from Buy to Neutral, but reiterated the $46.00 price target.

In the report, UBS Securities noted, “Based on strong U.S. trends from dental/vet peers, and a much easier dental equip comp, we are comfortable with our $0.49 EPS view vs. Street's $0.48 for PDCO's F2Q14 results to be reported Thurs a.m. (11/21). However, the dental equip comps get much tougher in the back half of FY14, and with pressure on the P&L related to voluntary I/T investments this year, it seems the run-up in the stock (up 26% YTD) has now priced in most of the good news related to U.S. dental trends. With stock now at P/E of 18x on CY14E, and 10x EBITDA, we downgrade to Neutral.”

Patterson Companies closed on Tuesday at $42.88.