Analyst Upgrades: Apple, ARM Holdings, Akamai Tech

Analysts are weighing in today on iPhone parent Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), tech issue ARM Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:ARMH), and cloud concern Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on AAPL, ARMH, and AKAM.

• After hitting a record high of $122.15 yesterday, AAPL finished at $122.02, becoming the first company to ever close with a $700 billion market cap. The equity followed up this epic achievement by announcing it was buying roughly $850 million of power in a deal with First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR). This morning, J.P. Morgan Securities raised its price target on Apple Inc. to $145 from $140, and kept its "overweight" rating, which is par for the course, as far as analysts go. Of the 30 brokerage firms covering the shares, 24 rate them a "buy" or better, with six "holds," and zero "sells." AAPL is up slightly in electronic trading, as it looks to add to its 10.5% year-to-date gain.


• Canaccord Genuity raised its price target on ARMH by $1 to $57, and kept its "buy" rating, pushing the equity 3.6% higher in pre-market action. Since hitting a year-to-date low of $42.79 on Jan. 6, the shares have tacked on 14%, settling yesterday at $48.77. Options bulls have responded, with the stock's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 3.55 ranking higher than 84% of all such readings from the past year. Yet, some of this activity could be bears hedging their bets, as the more than eight million shares of ARM Holdings plc that are sold short account for nearly a weeks' worth of pent-up buying power, at its typical daily trading pace. In other news, the company reported strong fourth-quarter license revenue growth, helped by the success of AAPL's iPhone 6 -- which uses chips based on an ARMH design.


• Yesterday, AKAM added 2% to finish at $62.21, and after last evening's fourth-quarter earnings beat, the shares are continuing their push higher, adding 4.3% in pre-market trading. Analysts have taken notice, with Craig-Hallum upping its price target to $78, and CLSA and Canaccord Genuity each bumping their targets to $75. All three brokerage firms call Akamai Technologies, Inc. a "buy." UBS and Credit Suisse also raised their price targets to $72 and $60, respectively. Technically speaking, the equity has been hot of late, adding nearly 7% so far this month. If AKAM can keep up this momentum, it could benefit from a reversal of speculator behavior. According to the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.36, near-term traders are more put-skewed now than at any other point in the past 52 weeks.