UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades OpenTable On Higher Conviction In Investments

In a report published Friday, Bank of America analyst Paul Bieber upgraded the rating on OpenTable (NASDAQ: OPEN) from Neutral to Buy, and reiterated the $87.00 price target.

In the report, Bank of America noted, “We are upgrading OpenTable to Buy (from Neutral). While 2Q results were essentially in-line with weather negatively impacting seated diner growth by 200bps and rev. by $500K, we expect recent investments to pay dividends. Our upgrade is based on: 1) we expect N. America seated diner growth to accelerate 500bps to 29% y/y growth in 2Q; 2) traction with new initiatives such as payments is likely to support positive sentiment; 3) improving Int'l results including accelerating restaurant additions in the U.K may rekindle investor optimism on Int'l opportunity; and 4) recent sell-off has resulted in 28% potential upside to our unchanged PO of $87. In our experience, the stock can appreciate when seated diner growth accelerates.”

OpenTable closed on Thursday at $68.27.