Analyst Update: Cytokinetics, GlaxoSmithKline, Seadrill

Analysts are weighing in today on pharmaceutical firms Cytokinetics Inc. (NASDAQ:CYTK) and GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK), as well as oil rig operator Seadrill Ltd (NYSE:SDRL). Here's a quick look at today's brokerage notes on CYTK, GSK, and SDRL.

• After releasing an upbeat fourth-quarter earnings report last night, the shares of CYTK are up 18.6% this afternoon to reach $7.70. Reacting was brokerage firm Piper Jaffray, which upped its rating on the equity to "overweight" from "neutral," ahead of late-stage trials on the firm's amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) drug tirasemtiv. On the charts, Cytokinetics, Inc. is in the middle of an impressive recovery, with the shares up 152.5% from their Oct. 13 record low of $3.05. Accordingly, bullish bets are popular in the options pits, with CYTK's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 23.82 sitting 8 percentage points away from an annual high.


• GSK is up 3.9% today to reach $47.73, after no fewer than three brokerage firms adjusted their price targets on the equity. Specifically, UBS raised its target price to 1,700P from 1,250P and its rating to "buy" from "sell," while Barclays and Berenberg slashed their price targets, to 1,690P and 1,560P, respectively -- with the former underscoring an "overweight" rating and the latter reiterating a "hold" opinion. Although GlaxoSmithKline plc is down about 14.6% year-over-year, the shares have rallied 15.7% since touching an annual low of $41.25 on Jan. 6. Despite GSK's good fortune of late, traders have been buying to open puts at a breakneck pace, as the security's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 1.76 registers in the 95th percentile of its annual range.


• News that SDRL is cutting $1.1 billion worth of orders from Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) has the shares down 5.8% this afternoon to trade at $12.27. Cowen and Company also cut its target price on the equity to $10 from $12 while keeping a "market perform" rating. Even with today's negative price action, Seadrill Ltd is in the middle of a comeback, with the shares advancing 33.7% from their nearly five-year low of $9.18, touched on Jan. 14. However, traders have still shown a slight preference for puts over calls in the options pits, with SDRL's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 0.87 sitting in the 61st percentile of its 12-month range.