iRobot initiated with "buy"

12/30/05 - Needham & Co

NEW YORK, December 30 (newratings.com) - Analyst Charles R Wolf of Needham & Co initiates coverage of iRobot Corporation (IRBT) with a "buy" rating. The target price is set to $35.

In a research note dated December 19 and published yesterday, the analyst mentions that the company has a leading position in the high-growth behavioral robotics field, which is expected to increase to $50 billion over the next 20 years. The increasing deployment of unmanned vehicles in fighting force and the growing ability of robots to perform various repetitive home maintenance chores are expected to boost the demand for iRobot’s products in the military and consumer segments going forward, the analyst says.