Analyst Upgrades: Crocs, GrubHub, and Lululemon

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings on CROX, GRUB, and LULU

Dec 16, 2014 at 9:25 AM

Analysts are weighing in today on molded shoe manufacturer Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX), online food-ordering portal GrubHub Inc (NYSE:GRUB), and yoga apparel maker Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on CROX, GRUB, and LULU.

Following last night's appointment of a new CEO, CROX was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Sterne Agee. These developments have the shares up 5.7% ahead of the open -- though, as of last night's close at $12.16, they're down 23.6% year-to-date. Today's projected rally is bad news for Crocs, Inc. short sellers. Nearly 9% of the stock's float is sold short, which would take roughly 12 sessions to buy back, at CROX's typical daily trading levels.

Goldman Sachs raised its assessment of GRUB to "buy" from "neutral," despite the stock's recent slide. Specifically, since hitting a record high of $45.80 in mid-August, the shares have given back 30.7% to rest at $31.74. However, the bullish analyst note has GrubHub Inc pointed 2% higher in electronic trading. Taking a step back, Goldman Sachs isn't alone in its optimism; seven out of nine covering analysts have given the shares a "buy" or better rating, compared to two "holds" and not a single "sell." What's more, GRUB's consensus 12-month price target stands at a lofty $45.75 -- just shy of its all-time peak.

Finally, LULU received a price-target hike to $62 from $60 at SunTrust Robinson, which also reiterated its "buy" opinion. This stock has been on a tear in December, up almost 12% month-to-date at $53.87, helped recently by a well-received turn in the earnings confessional. What's more, Lululemon Athletica inc. has outperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by 29.4 percentage points over the last three months. Not surprisingly, traders at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) have been upping the bullish ante in recent months. LULU's 50-day call/put volume ratio across this trio of exchanges is 2.54 -- just 11 percentage points shy of a 12-month high.

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