Analyst Update: Lumber Liquidators, Anacor Pharma

Analysts are weighing in today on flooring firm Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE:LL), drugmaker Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ANAC), and athletic apparel retailer Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ). Here's a quick look at today's brokerage notes on LL, ANAC, and ZUMZ.

• No fewer than three brokerage firms reduced their price targets on LL, with the most aggressive cut coming from Jefferies, which lowered its price target to $33 from $52 while reiterating a "hold" opinion. Additionally, Goldman Sachs downwardly revised its price target by $5 to $35, its rating to "neutral" from "buy," and removed Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc from its "America's buy list," saying it expects negative impacts on both sales and margins due to recent safety accusations. On the charts, LL has been struggling amid the controversy, with the shares down 34.1% month-to-date to hit $34.20, including a 5.2% dip today. However, calls have been a popular choice in the options pits, as LL's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 0.86 rests higher than three-fourths of all equivalent ratings taken over the past year.


• ANAC posted a fourth-quarter earnings loss last night that topped expectations, prompting Jefferies to hike its price target to $57 from $41 while underscoring a "buy" rating, and Wedbush to increase its price target to $60 from $50 while reiterating its "outperform" opinion. Additionally, Cowen said it expects "Kerydin sales to significantly outpace 2015 consensus, and Anacor remains a top pick." At last check, the shares of Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc are up 9.9% to trade near $53.33, with the equity touching an all-time high of $53.94 earlier today. However, short-term puts have been popular in the options pits, as ANAC's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.18 ranks in the 81st annual percentile. Meanwhile, nearly 20% of the stock's available float is sold short, representing 17.9 times ANAC's average trading volume.


• On the other hand, ZUMZ unveiled a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profit and forecast lower-than-expected sales for the current quarter. In the wake of the results, a number of brokerage firms weighed in on the stock, including B. Riley, which upped its price target to $44 from $43 while reiterating a "buy" opinion, and D.A. Davidson, which reduced its target to $42 from $44 while underscoring its "neutral" rating. Today, the shares of Zumiez Inc. are off 6.4% to hit $37.40, putting the stock 3.2% in the red year-to-date. Calls have been prevalent in the options pits, as ZUMZ's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 9.60 sits just 9 percentage points away from an annual peak.