Analyst Upgrades: Broadcom, Rite Aid, VMware

Analysts are weighing in today on semiconductor firm Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM), pharmacy chain Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD), and virtualization specialist VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on BRCM, RAD, and VMW.

• The shares of BRCM are pointed 0.2% higher in electronic trading, after FBR added the stock to its "Top Picks" list. On the charts, Broadcom Corporation has taken a step back recently, with the shares down 8.8% from their March 20 four-year high of $46.31, to close Thursday at $42.23. Meanwhile, puts have been prominent in the options pits, as BRCM's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 1.37 is the highest such reading taken over the past year. Echoing this indicator is the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.45, which rests in the 90th percentile of its annual range. Said another way, short-term traders have rarely been this put-skewed over the past 12 months.


• Analysts continue to weigh in on RAD, after the company on Thursday reported rising same store sales for March. Specifically, J.P. Morgan Securities resumed coverage on Rite Aid Corporation with an "overweight" rating and a $10 price target -- in territory not charted in 15 years. Looking back, the stock has been a technical outperformer, as the shares notched a 13-year high of $9.07 on Thursday, before settling at $8.79. What's more, the shares are pointed 0.6% higher in pre-market trading. Not surprisingly, call activity has been elevated in the options pits ahead of Wednesday's trip to the earnings confessional. Over the past 50 days at the ISE/CBOE/PHLX, 13.28 RAD calls have been bought to open for every put -- higher than 96% of all equivalent readings from the past year.


• Nomura upgraded VMW to "buy," sending the shares about 1.2% higher ahead of the bell. The shares of VMware, Inc. are down about 22.7% year-over-year to close Thursday at $80.36, yet 16 out of 27 analysts maintain "buy" or better endorsements. Sentiment in the options pits has been pessimistic, though, as VMW's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 0.89 stands in the 71st percentile of its annual range. Short sellers have taken a shine to the equity as well, as 11.6% of the security's available float is sold short. Furthermore, it would take these traders over six sessions to cover their bets, at average trading volumes.