Barclays Upgrades CyrusOne To Overweight

Following the recent pullback among data center stocks, Barclays’ Amir Rozwadowski upgraded the rating on CyrusOne Inc (NASDAQ: CONE) from Equal-weight to Overweight, while raising the price target from $50 to $57.

Data center stocks have outperformed year-to-date. Following the recent pullback, CyrusOne’s stock appears to have an “attractive relative risk / reward,” analyst Rozwadowski commented. He added that the earnings trajectory of data center companies would play an increasing role in determining share performance from current levels.

Improving Demand

Both CyrusOne and Equinix Inc (NASDAQ: EQIX) have suggested favorable secular demand. “The ability to meet those targets suggests healthy upside (+34% and +14%, respectively) to shares if valuation levels remain stable for the foreseeable future,” Rozwadowski wrote.

Sector Consolidation

The analyst believes that the current pace of sector consolidation would not decline significantly in the near term. CyrusOne could look to “filling in its domestic footprint and potentially improving scale via international expansion.”

The EPS estimates for FY1 and FY2 have been raised from $0.40 to $2.59 and from $0.67 to $3.07, respectively.

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