Stocks quoted in this article:
Analysts are weighing in today on coffee purveyor Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - 50.79), entertainment giant The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - 49.59), and construction supplies provider Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST - 41.52). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes.
- SBUX -- which has gained nearly 16% during the past year -- was upgraded to "outperform" from "neutral," and saw its price target lifted to $62 from $55 at Baird this morning. Nevertheless, puts seem to have an edge over calls in the options pits. The equity's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio sits at 1.22, confirming puts bought to open have outpaced calls over the last two weeks. This ratio is just nine percentage points shy of a bearish peak, meaning traders have rarely picked up puts over calls at a faster clip during the past year.
- DIS received a price-target hike to $56 from $54 at Nomura ahead of the open, after revealing a new partnership with Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). The equity has advanced roughly 34% on a year-over-year basis, which could explain why the analyst sentiment scales are bullishly tipped. DIS boasts 11 "strong buys" and three "buy" endorsements, compared to 10 "holds" and not a single "sell" suggestion. Meanwhile, the stock's average 12-month price target of $54.67 represents expected upside of about 12% to Wednesday's closing price of $48.84.
- Up almost 2% in pre-market trading, FAST was raised to "outperform" from "market perform" at William Blair today, despite the stock's year-to-date loss of about 5%. This vote of confidence is evident among the near-term options crowd, as well. Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) for FAST checks in at 0.77, with calls outstripping puts among options scheduled to expire in the next three months. In fact, this ratio hovers just two percentage points above an annual low, indicating short-term options players have rarely been more call-heavy toward the security during the last 12 months.
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