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Costco price target raised to $270 from $250 at Baird. Baird analyst Peter Benedict raised his price target for Costco Wholesale to $270 from $250 and reiterates an Outperform rating on the shares. Increased control over product supply is an underappreciated part of the Costco investment story, Benedict tells investors in a research note. He believes the company's vertical initiatives strengthen its "already-considerable" competitive advantages in the marketplace as well as add durability to its "quality/value/limited-assortment" strategy. Ultimately these will provide "fuel for continued profitable market share gains," according to Benedict.

CMS proposed rate changes to have little impact on Abiomed, says Piper Jaffray. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services yesterday afternoon issued proposed inpatient prospective payment system rates for Impella cases, Piper Jaffray analyst Matt O'Brien tells investors in a research note. CMS proposed to cut one of Abiomed's key codes, while raising the others, says the analyst. He finds it important to remember that these are proposed changes and that Medicare tends to leave the rates essentially unchanged in the final decision. O'Brien recommends not over-reading the proposed rates and continues to expect growth at Abiomed to be among the fastest in all of large cap med tech. He keeps an Overweight rating on the shares with a $480 price target.

Hologic checks suggest worsening Cynosure trends, says Piper Jaffray. Piper Jaffray analyst William Quirk says his eBay (EBAY) channel checks suggest Hologic's (HOLX) positive trends in his earlier research have reversed with more used Cynosure lasers hitting third party websites and prices trending down. While Cynosure represents just ~10% of Hologic's total revenue, it carries a "heavy psychological burden on the share price," Quirk tells investors in a research note. He maintains an Overweight rating on Hologic with a $49 price target, but recognizes the company's March quarter results may bring a better entry point if his checks prove accurate.