Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on SBUX, CSCO, and CRM stocks
Analysts are weighing in on coffee name Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), Dow stock Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), and cloud firm salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on shares of SBUX, CSCO, and CRM.
SBUX Stock Upgraded to "Buy" at Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank upgraded SBUX stock to "buy" from "hold" and raised its price target to $69 from $59, saying it was encouraged by "longer-term investments, structural and strategic moves." After settling last week at $59.93, Starbucks shares are trading up 1% ahead of the bell -- poised to reclaim a foothold atop the round $60 mark and 20-day moving average. With SBUX shares enjoying a nearly 8% year-to-date lead, roughly four-fifths of covering analysts maintain a "buy" or better rating, with not a single "sell" to be found.
Morgan Stanley Upgrades CSCO Stock After Ransomware Attack
Cisco Systems shares were upgraded to "overweight" from "neutral" by Morgan Stanley, in response to a ransomware attack that's claimed victims in at least 150 countries. "Reducing the cost of security breaches by only 10 percent can save global enterprises $17 billion annually," said Morgan Stanley. CSCO stock is set to add to its nearly 11% year-to-date advance after settling last week at $33.45 -- just above its rising 80-day moving average -- up 1.7% in electronic trading.
With Cisco earnings due after Wednesday's closing bell, options traders have been buying to open calls over puts at a faster-than-usual clip in recent weeks. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 2.60 ranks in the 83rd annual percentile.
Analysts Wax Optimistic Ahead of CRM Earnings
CRM earnings will be released after the market closes on Thursday, and analysts are waxing optimistic ahead of the event. While Benchmark and BMO boosted their respective price targets to $110 and $100, Wedbush reiterated its "outperform" rating and $102 price target. While all of these targets sit in uncharted territory, CRM stock is set to open today's trading at a new record high, after closing at $89.04 on Friday -- up 30% on the year. Short sellers have be throwing in the towel, too, which may have helped drive some of the recent upside for salesforce.com shares. Even with short interest down 5.4% in the latest two-week reporting period, though, it would still take over a week to cover the remaining bearish bets, at CRM's average pace of trading.