Piper Jaffray Could Outperform Amid Q3 Beat, Potential For Tax Reform

Ann Dai of KBW upgraded Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE: PJC) from Market Perform to Outperform and she increased its price target from $64 to $78. The update follows the company's better-than-expected earnings results Thursday.

She explained that the risk/reward for the stock is more favorable due to an increased level of confidence in the path for continued M&A growth. The earnings report showed better-than-expected advisory revenue and also better-than-expected public finance and fixed income commissions. Dai said that she is forecasting a decline in equity commissions, but she sees some upside potential for the segment in case market volatility increases. She expected a strong quarter for advisory, but she was surprised by a large delta between expected and reported numbers.

Piper Jaffray has a significant upside potential to tax reform, said Dai. She added that she didn't add effects from potential acquisitions into her numbers. There are currently six deals in the pipeline and Dai forecasts fourth-quarter revenue for the segment at $103 million.

After the earnings report, Dai raised her 2017, 2018 and 2019 forecasts from $5.65 to $6.84, from $5.44 to $6.04 and from $5.78 to $6.51 respectively. The price target of $78 reflects a 12 multiple on her 2019 forecast and 1.6 multiple TBV.

At publication, shares of Piper Jaffray were up 4.68 percent at $69.40.

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