Citibank (NYSE: C) maintained its “sell” rating on Athena Health (NASDASQ: ATHN) and reiterated its $35.00 price target, despite lowering the company’s estimated earnings per share and lower implementation revenue.
Analyst Charles Boorady said, “On the earnings call, management reiterated 30+% revenue growth target each year, but also stated greater investment in selling and marketing in 2010 than in 2009, especially in 1H primarily to increase awareness and sales representatives. An increase in S&M as % of revenue is greater than our previous estimate due to scalability expectations from 2011 target margins given by management at the December Investor Day.”
For 2010, Citibank lowered its earnings per share estimate to $0.63, down from $0.74, versus a consensus estimate of $0.83. For 2011, Citibank lowered its earnings per share estimate to $0.93, down from $1.03, with a consensus estimate of $1.31.
