Analyst Update: AcelRx Pharma, AVEO Pharma, Twitter

Analysts are weighing in today on drugmakers AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ACRX) and AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVEO), as well as microblogging platform Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR). Here's a quick look at today's brokerage notes on ACRX, AVEO, and TWTR.

• Prior to the release of ACRX's fourth-quarter earnings data tonight, the stock is swimming in the red after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested more data on pain drug Zalviso. As a result, Canaccord Genuity cut its price target on the security to $6 from $8 while underscoring its "hold" rating. At last check, the shares of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc are down 34% at $5.77, and earlier touched a nearly two-year low of $5.07. Year-to-date, the struggling stock is down 13.8%. Prior to today's drop, bearish sentiment in the options pits was ramping up, as ACRX's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.32 sits in the 82nd percentile of its annual range. What's more, over 41% of the stock's available float is sold short, which would take over 32 sessions to cover, at average trading volumes.


• RBC upgraded its opinion of AVEO this morning, hiking its price target to $3 from $2 and its rating to "sector perform" from "underperform." In response, the shares are up 8.7% to hit $1.63, adding to a 94% year-to-date gain. In fact, the stock touched a two-year peak of $2.02 on Friday, thanks to promising data on its tivozanib drug. Not surprisingly, sentiment in the equity's options pits is bullish, as AVEO's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 43.42 sits in the 78th percentile of its annual range.


• Earlier today, Cannacord Genuity released an upbeat investment thesis of TWTR, saying, "We believe Twitter stock is mid-way through a process of winning back investors after a rough end to 2014," and waxed optimistic on the stock's 2015 prospects. On the charts, the shares of Twitter Inc have added 1.7% today to hit $47.56, contributing to a 32.6% year-to-date gain. In conjunction with TWTR's technical breakout, sentiment in the options pits is nearing an optimistic climax. Specifically, TWTR's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 3.77 sits just 4 percentage points away from the highest similar reading taken over the past year.