SAP "buy," target price raised

06.07.06 - Merrill Lynch

LONDON, July 6 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Merrill Lynch maintain their "buy" rating on SAP (SAP-EUR). The target price has been raised from ?200 to ?230.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that there is expected to be a significant shift in the software industry towards the SOA (service-orientated
architecture) platform. SAP has invested nearly ?2 billion till now in its Business Process Platform (BPP), which marks the company's foray into the SOA segment and which is scheduled to be launched in 2007, the analysts add. SAP would be among the few companies with adequate R&D resources to manage the anticipated shift, according to Merrill Lynch.