Ahead Of The Bell: Pharma Product Development Inc.

NEW YORK (AP) — A Robert W. Baird analyst upgraded shares of Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc. on Monday, saying that Wall Street is well prepared for disappointing results from the contract research company.

Analyst Eric Coldwell said PPD is going to lower its revenue expectations, but he said investors already expect that to happen. He said the company's contract bookings are rising, which should drive the stock price up. Some of PPD's rivals have made strong gains in the last few months, Coldwell said, but shares of the Wilmington, N.C., company are relatively close to their annual lows.

Coldwell upgraded the stock to "Outperform" from "Neutral," and raised his price target to $28 per share from $22. He expects the company to earn $1.32 per share this year, with $1.33 billion in revenue. On average, Thomson Reuters says analysts are looking for $1.34 per share and $1.34 billion in revenue.

The stock has traded between $17.97 and $37.70 over the last year, closing at $21.95 Friday, up 22 percent from its lowest price. Coldwell said share prices for some of PPD's peers have doubled in value, but PPD has a strong backlog, maintains its profitability, and carries no debt.