Analysts Upgrades: Amazon.com, Inc., Keurig Green Mountain Inc, and Splunk Inc

Analysts are weighing in today on e-commerce concern Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), java giant Keurig Green Mountain Inc (NASDAQ:GMCR), and software specialist Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on AMZN, GMCR, and SPLK.

• AMZN is up 1.2% to trade at $334.59, after being started at "buy" by Nomura. In addition, traders are weighing reports that AMZN will roll out a new, ad-supported, non-Prime streaming video service in early 2015. Longer term, the stock has shed more than 16% in 2014, but has been in rally mode lately -- outperforming the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by 10.2 percentage points during the last month. Helping Amazon.com, Inc. shares has been a number of recent fundamental developments. Meanwhile, at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have responded to the stock's surge by buying to open calls over puts at a faster-than-usual clip. In fact, AMZN's 10-day call/put volume ratio across these exchanges is 1.63, in the 96th percentile of its annual range.


• GMCR received a price-target hike to $140 at Roth Capital, which also reiterated its "neutral" opinion on the shares. However, this hasn't made a positive impact on the charts, with the equity 1% lower at $141.09 -- though its year-to-date advance is still more than 86%. Based on Keurig Green Mountain Inc's longer-term technical tenacity, additional bullish notes could be in store. A majority of covering analysts still rate the shares a "hold" or "strong sell," while GMCR's consensus 12-month price target of $141.90 stands at a discount to the current price. Should a few upgrades and/or additional price-target boosts come down the pike, they could provide the shares with a tailwind.


• Finally, SPLK is sizzling on the charts, up nearly 5% at $68.16 following a third-quarter earnings beat, a raised full-year outlook, and a raft of bullish brokerage notes. In fact, no fewer than 13 analysts upped their price targets on the stock, and Jefferies initiated coverage on Splunk Inc with a "buy" rating and $89 target -- a more than 30% premium to current trading levels. This comes as bad news to short sellers. Short interest soared by 29.3% during the two most recent reporting periods, and now represents 8.4% of SPLK's outstanding float. In other words, there's plenty of sideline cash available to fuel the equity's fire.