Assured Guaranty downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Roth Capital

Roth Capital downgraded Assured Guaranty (AGO) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $80, down from $110. The company still has adequate capital to repurchase shares but has decided to take a more conservative view after repurchasing $6B of its shares since the program began, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The better-than-expected Q1 earnings was chiefly due to a tax benefit due to the changes in Bermuda’s tax laws and to a gain on sale of an asset this quarter that together amounted to about $1.39 a share, the firm added.