Buy on Ecolab
Canaccord Genuity analyst John Quealy reiterated his "buy" recommendation on St. Paul-based Ecolab, which reported solid first-quarter earnings last week. Ecolab's industrial and institutional segments grew 3 percent in the quarter, but sales from recently acquired energy businesses grew 78 percent. He wrote: "We find Ecolab very well positioned to benefit from the convergence of population growth, resource volatility and rapid industrialization across the world."
Patience fades on Imation
Eric Martinuzzi, an analyst for Minneapolis-based Lake Street Capital Markets, is the only analyst among four that has a "buy" recommendation on Oakdale-based Imation Corp. Last week he reiterated his "buy" rating but lowered his price target from $8 to $5 per share after the company reported first-quarter results.
"We initiated coverage of Imation in September 2013 with the belief Imation's Storage & Security subsegment (15 percent of revenues) would prove a much needed growth driver,'' Martinuzzi wrote. "Instead S&S has caught the same flu as Imation's other major subsegments. Our patience for the S&S traction is on the wane and is reflected in our lowered price target."
Patrick Kennedy