PJC Piper Jaffray Companies

Piper Jaffray Senior Analyst Gene Munster Recognized as a 'Home-Run Hitter' by Institutional Investor Magazine MINNEAPOLIS, April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piper Jaffray & Co. senior analyst Gene Munster was recently recognized as a "Home-Run Hitter," by Institutional Investor magazine. The list includes 10 analysts, five for large-cap stocks and five for small-cap stocks, who picked the best-performing stocks in 2004. Munster was selected as one of the top large-cap equity research analysts based on his pick of Autodesk (ADSK, Outperform, $32.62) which experienced a 209.62 percent increase in 2004. Munster's pick of Autodesk created the second highest total return on the list. The "Home-Run Hitters" list will be featured in the April issue of Institutional Investor. To select the annual list, Institutional Investor asked FactSet Research Systems to list the five top-performing stocks with market caps between $75 million and $1 billion and the five top performers with market caps above $1 billion. The magazine used data from Investars.com, a New York-based research performance measurement company, as well as company Web sites and other sources to help pinpoint the analysts who covered each stock and to determine when they made their recommendations. Winning analysts are those whose stock pick in 2004 produced the greatest total return. Munster joined Piper Jaffray in 1995 and has covered security software since spring of 2001 and also covers application software companies. He has authored several key industry reports on technology and is quoted frequently in financial and technical news publications. Munster holds a bachelor's degree in financial management and new venture strategies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. Piper Jaffray was making a market in the securities of Autodesk, Inc. at the time this research report was published. Piper Jaffray will buy and sell Autodesk, Inc. securities on a principal basis. Piper Jaffray & Co. is the chief operating subsidiary of Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE:PJC), a focused securities firm dedicated to delivering superior financial advice, investment products and transaction execution within selected sectors of the financial services marketplace. The company operates through two primary revenue-generating segments: Capital Markets and Private Client Services. Piper Jaffray & Co. has served corporations, government and non-profit entities, institutional investors and the financial advisory needs of private individuals since 1895. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Piper Jaffray has approximately 3,000 employees in 104 offices in 23 states across the country and in London. For more information about Piper Jaffray, visit us online at http://www.piperjaffray.com/ . Since 1895. Member SIPC and NYSE. DATASOURCE: Piper Jaffray & Co. CONTACT: Susan Beatty, Media Relations of Piper Jaffray & Co., +1-612-303-5680 Web site: http://www.piperjaffray.com/

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