Analyst Upgrades: Amazon, Electronic Arts, Gilead

Analysts are weighing in today on online merchant Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), video game producer Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), and biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on AMZN, EA, and GILD.

• Despite its year-to-date loss of roughly 26%, AMZN was started with an "overweight" rating and $420 price target at Morgan Stanley -- representing 42% upside to the stock's current perch at $295.59. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have bought to open puts and calls at a roughly even pace over the past 10 weeks. However, Amazon.com, Inc.'s resultant 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.01 ranks in the 73rd percentile of its annual range, meaning speculators have scooped up long puts over calls at an accelerated rate, relative to the previous year's worth of data.


• EA topped the Street's quarterly profit and sales estimates last night -- and raised its 2015 outlook -- prompting no fewer than seven brokerage firms to raise their price targets. For instance, Wedbush upped its outlook to $55 from $49, and reiterated its "outperform" opinion. Technically speaking, 2014 has been kind to Electronic Arts Inc., which has soared 63.4% year-to-date to trade at $37.48. Not surprisingly, most of Wall Street is already in the bulls' corner, as 11 analysts rate the shares a "strong buy," versus six "holds" and not a single "sell" recommendation. EA's consensus 12-month price target of $41.98 also represents a healthy 12% premium to current trading levels.


• Finally, GILD reported mixed quarterly results last night, and as a result, the shares are sitting about 3% lower ahead of the bell. Nevertheless, half a dozen brokerage firms increased their price targets on the pharmaceutical name -- including BMO, which bumped its target up $5 to $170, to go along with its "outperform" conviction. On the charts, shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. are up a market-beating 51% in 2014 to rest at $113.45, and just yesterday hit a record high of $114.13. Not surprisingly, the majority of Wall Street is already bullish toward the equity, with 14 "buy" or better opinions outweighing a pair of "holds" and not a single "sell" rating.