Needham & Company reinstates coverage on VMware (NYSE: VMW) with a Hold rating.

Analyst Scott Zeller commented, "We are reinstating coverage of VMW at HOLD. On Sept 7, 2016, Dell’s acquisition of EMC closed after first being announced in October 2015. Despite the acquisition of EMC, VMW's controlling shareholder, VMware shares will continue to trade as VMW. We think the prospects for VMW have improved since the beginning of this year following a restructuring and the subsequent “undoing” of the plan to merge Virtustream from EMC into VMW’s cloud practice. The reversal of the Virtustream plan was key for shares, as the original plan had a high CY16 capex of $625m, which would have impacted FCF. Free cash flow guidance for CY16 has been increased to JuneQ’s guidance of $2.13B, and shares have responded positively. In an August press interview, VMW reaffirmed CY16 revenue and cash flow guidance."

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Shares of VMware closed at $72.76 yesterday.