Deutsche Bank (DB) lifted its price target on DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) to $104 from $92, following better-than-expected Q4 results from the provider of dialysis services.
The bank, which reiterated its "Buy" rating on the stock, said the beat was due in part to lower patient care costs/tx offset by a modest decline in revenue/tx.
"We are encouraged by the further decrease in patient costs/tx and this could be a potential upside risk to our estimates in 2012," DB wrote in a note.
In addition, the company's various growth initiatives continue to develop and could provide a lift to numbers in the longer-term, the bank said.
The stock, which has been trading between $59.14 and $89.76 over the past year, is trading 0.37% higher at $85.80 on Friday.