Analyst Upgrades: Amex, First Solar, ON Semiconductor

Analysts are weighing in today on credit card giant American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), alternative energy firm First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), and semiconductor producer ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ONNN). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on AXP, FSLR, and ONNN.

• AXP was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Goldman Sachs, which also lifted its price target to $102 from $100. Accordingly, the shares have popped 1.8% out of the gate to trade at $89.96, bringing them back into positive year-over-year territory after a couple days of sharp losses. Meanwhile, options traders have been eyeing additional downside for American Express Company. The stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits at 1.58 -- just 1 percentage point from an annual high.


• Goldman Sachs also weighed in on FSLR, which it raised to "neutral" from "sell" -- despite the equity's year-over-year deficit of 22.2%, as of last night's close at $40.86. This morning, however, the shares have popped nearly 2%. Moving along, option bears have been rolling the dice on First Solar, Inc. in recent months. At the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, the equity has racked up a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 0.70, which ranks higher than 94% of all comparable readings from the past year. In a similar vein, FSLR's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.93 stands in the 95th annual percentile, suggesting short-term traders have rarely been so put-skewed.


• Finally, ONNN saw its price target raised to $13 from $10 at Wedbush, which also reiterated its "outperform" rating. This comes as little surprise, as the shares have surged 17.3% year-over-year to trade at $10.02. On the sentiment front, traders at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX have been upping the bullish ante on ON Semiconductor Corp, with more than 36 calls bought to open for every put during the last two weeks. The resultant 10-day call/put volume ratio of 36.40 stands higher than 81% of comparable readings recorded in the previous 12 months.