Perficient hits 12-month high after upgrade

Perficient hits 12-month high after Stifel Nicolaus upgrade on IT spending improvement

• On 12:21 pm EDT, Tuesday October 13, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) -- Perficient Inc. shares hit a new 12-month high Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the company, noting improvement in discretionary spending on information technology.

Perficient, an Austin, Texas-based IT consulting company, gained $1.06, or 13 percent, to $9.21 in afternoon trading, after earlier touching a new peak of $9.24.

In a note to investors, analyst George Price raised his rating on Perficient to "Buy" from "Hold" and set an $11 price target. That price target implies upside of 35 percent over its closing price Monday of $8.15.

He said IT spending should remain "subdued" for the balance of the year but added that recent signs of improvement "give us more confidence we should see (quarter-over-quarter) revenue improvement in 2010" as the economy improves.

Price added that Perficient could become an attractive acquisition target for "IT services companies looking to enhance their high-end software and systems integration capabilities."