Cree: The Street Sees The Light; Gabelli Says Buy; Lazard Ups Ests

Cree (CREE) shares are getting a modest lift today from a pair of upbeat notes on the LED lighting company.

• Gabelli & Co. analyst Hendi Susanto this morning launched coverage of Cree with a Buy rating and a price target of $100 a share. “We believe the secular growth of the LED industry combined with the company’s new capacity expansion, projected earnings growth and consistent execution on cost reduction will result in continued earnings upside,” he writes. Susanto projects EPS of $1.35 this year, $2.20 next year and $2.85 the year after that.
• Lazard Capital analyst Daniel Amir maintains his Hold rating on Cree, but ups his 2010 forecast to $1.60 from $1.56 for this year, and to $1.94, from $1.74 for 2011. Amir says that his checks find that pricing for LEDs “continues to be strong.” The analyst estimates pricing is up about 5% this quarter. On the other hand, he cautions that margins have likely peaked for Cree, and he sees competition gaining strength, including heavyweights like Toshiba, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor.

CREE is up 86 cents, or 1.2%, to $70.99.