Equinix: Needham Now Even More Bullish

Needham analyst Greg Mesniaeff this morning raised his rating on Equinix (EQIX) to Strong Buy, from Buy, lifting his price target to $115 from $90. (Maybe they should have some even higher ratings. “Disturbingly Strong Buy,” or maybe “”Mega Buy,” or “Super Deluxe Buy Royale.”)

Anyway, Mesniaeff writes that he has become increasingly convinced that the Web hosting company’s business fundamentals “will continue to strengthen in 2010 as peering wireless carriers assume an increasingly important role in the company’s customer roster, while key verticals - financials, enterprise customers, media and content providers - maintains their current growth outlook.”

That said, he actually slightly trimmed EPS estimates on the company. For 2009 he now sees $1.58, down from $1.55. For 2010, his revised forecast is $1.96, down from $1.84. He contends that the stock deserves a valuation premium to its peers due to “its defensible market position, solid margin profile and strong balance sheet.”

EQIX today is up $1.47, or $1.7%, to $90.45.