American Greetings upgraded to buy at Soleil Securities

NEW YORK, Jul 08, 2008 (Thomson Financial via COMTEX) -- AM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- American Greetings Corp. Tuesday was upgraded to buy from hold at Soleil Securities Group, which said the company's shares have dropped enough since June 25 to create a compelling value and attractive risk-to-reward ratio for long-term investors.

Soleil also raised its price target to $17 from $16.

Since reporting first-quarter earnings on June 25, the company's shares have fallen about 30%, compared to a 4% drop in the S&P 500, the firm said. Although near-term catalysts are few, the shares are trading at a "compelling" valuation relative to the historic value of the stock.

Also, Soleil added, greeting card sales have traditionally been resilient to downturns in consumer spending. And American Greetings is strongly entrenched as the second-largest greeting card company with an estimated 35% market share.

"Investors may have to wait six to nine months to capture most of the upside we see in the shares," the firm said.

American Greetings shares closed at $12.90 on Monday. Christie Rizk cr/pc

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