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Piper Jaffray’s Favorite Ideas: Intel Corporation (INTC), J C Penney Company Inc (JCP), and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (GWPH)

By Sarah Roden

Last week, Piper Jaffray’s analyst team recommended several favorite stocks across many sectors to consider in the second half of 2015. The firm currently has an overweight rating on every stock mentioned. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP), and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH) are 3 of the 15 mid to large cap stocks in Piper Jaffray’s report.

Ruben Roy of Piper Jaffray currently has an Outperform rating on Intel Corporation with a $38 price target, marking a 24% upside from where the stock is currently trading. Roy notes that Intel’s leadership in manufacturing will be a “longer-term competitive differentiator.” Many have been bearish on the semiconductor company since it has been adversely affected by the fall of the PC, but Roy notes that the new emphasis on markets such as data center and the Internet of Things should “improve longer-term profitability and growth metrics” for Intel.

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, Roy notes “low sentiment.” However, he is confident that “PCs will improve as inventory remains low and [Windows 10] and INTC’s Skylake processor will drive an inventory build and at least some new demand.” Skylake is Intel’s computer organization processor that puts instructions on a chip. The chip is set to launch in August. Roy adds that Intel’s Data Center Group “remains strong.” However, the analyst points out that PCs still comprise more than 50% of Intel’s revenue and warns this market “could decline faster” than he forecasts. Ruben Roy has a 50% success rate recommending stocks with a +6.9% average return per rating.

Although many firms are bearish on J.C. Penney, Neely Tamminga of Piper Jaffray has an overweight rating on the stock with a $15 price target, marking a 75% potential upside from where the stock is currently trading. Tamminga points out that the company’s new CEO, Marvin Ellison, has the reputation of “being lean while improving engagement.” The analyst is optimistic that J.C. Penney will “recapture” between $2 billion and $3 billion of the $6 billion in revenue that was lost by prior management in an effort to focus on “center core, repositioned home & omnichannel.” Furthermore, the analyst sees several avenues that could lead to $1.2 billion in EBITDA by 2017, such as “comp, GM% expansion, [and] cost savings.”

Since Ellison begins his tenure as CEO on August 1, Tamminga sees the second and third quarter as “potential positive catalysts for the stock.” However, the analyst notes risks such as “Pressure in the mid-tier department store space, declining mall traffic,” and J.C. Penney’s ability to “procure quality relevant merchandise.” Neely Tamminga has a 62% success rate recommending stocks with a +3.8% average return per rating.

Joshua Schimmer currently has an Outperform rating on GW Pharmaceuticals with a $147 price target, marking a 19.5% potential upside from where the stock is currently trading. Schimmer notes, “The company is a leader in cannabinoid therapeutics.” He is confident that GW Pharma will hit its stride in the second half of the year “with pivotal trial data expected in orphan, refractory epilepsy conditions including Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut.”

Looking forward, Schimmer is expecting positive results on at least two of the four pivotal trials. In the end of June, the analyst attended a course on the use of cannabinoids for epilepsy. Schimmer left the course feeling that the biopharmaceutical company is “uniquely positioned to benefit from the growing enthusiasm and emerging science for the wide range of potential conditions given its extensive involvement and expertise.” Joshua Schimmer has a 57% success rate recommending stocks with a +9.9% average return per recommendation.

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