Analysts issued bullish notes on ILMN, SYNA, and GRUB
Analysts are upwardly revising their ratings today on molecular diagnostics firm Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN), tech issue Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:SYNA), and mobile carryout platform GrubHub Inc (NYSE:GRUB). Here's a quick look at today's bullish brokerage notes on ILMN, SYNA, and GRUB.
- After the company's strong earnings report last night, ILMN scored an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral" at Janney, along with a price-target hike to $192 from $165. Six other firms also upped their price targets on Illumina, Inc., with JMP Securities lifting its forecast all the way to $245 -- roughly 49% above the stock's close at $164.47 on Monday. Most analysts are already upbeat on ILMN, in light of the equity's year-to-date rally of 48.7%. Among the 18 brokerage firms tracking the shares, 11 have handed out "strong buy" ratings, and there's not a single "sell" to be found. As traders respond to the firm's positive earnings news, ILMN has bounced 10% ahead of the bell.
- Sterne Agee started coverage of SYNA with a "buy" rating ahead of Thursday night's fiscal first-quarter earnings release. Synaptics, Incorporated has now garnered an almost unanimous vote of confidence from Wall Street, with 89% of analysts deeming the stock a "buy" or better. SYNA has advanced 36.9% year-over-year, with a recent pullback contained by support in the $65 area. However, the stock remains heavily targeted by short sellers, as evidenced by its short-to-float ratio of 12.9%. After closing Monday at $74.94, SYNA has edged fractionally higher in pre-market trading.
- BMO boosted its price target on GRUB to $44 from $40, implying expected upside of more than 19% from Monday's close at $36.86. GrubHub Inc made its public trading debut back in April, and the stock's current all-time high of $45.80 was reached in mid-August. In recent sessions, the stock's progress has been capped by resistance at its overhead 40-day moving average, now located at $37.37. Despite the recently sluggish price action, BMO's freshly reiterated "outperform" rating is hardly unique for GRUB. Among the eight analysts following the stock, seven call it a "buy" or better.