Analyst Upgrades: Pier 1, Netflix, and Marvell Tech

Analysts are weighing in today on home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR), streaming titan Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), and semiconductor concern Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on PIR, NFLX, and MRVL.

• After announcing a per-share quarterly earnings beat and a dividend hike, PIR scored some analyst love. Specifically, Wedbush raised its opinion on Pier 1 Imports Inc to "outperform" from "neutral," while hiking its price target to $16 from $13.50. On the charts, PIR -- which closed at $12.65 yesterday -- is 5.7% higher today to $13.36, bringing its year-over-year deficit to 27%. Accordingly, put activity has been prominent in the options pits, as PIR's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 1.06 stands in the 88th annual percentile. Wedbush excluded, the brokerage bunch is wary of PIR too, as 77% of covering analysts rate the stock a "hold" or worse.


• BMO raised its price target on NFLX to $450 from $400 while keeping its "market perform" rating, echoing a late-session price-target hike to $510 from $460 -- in uncharted territory -- from Goldman Sachs. At last check, the shares of Netflix, Inc. were down about 0.6% to $439, bringing their year-to-date lead to 28.5% (thanks to a January post-earnings bull gap). Yesterday, the stock closed at $441.35, and north of its 20-day moving average for the first time since early March. Although NFLX has been a technical outperformer , the brokerage bunch is divided on the equity, as 48% of covering analysts rate it a "hold" or worse. Additionally, NFLX's average 12-month price target of $451.03 represents just a 2.2% premium to yesterday's closing price, showing that additional price-target hikes and/or analyst upgrades could be on the horizon.


• The shares of MRVL are pointed 1.6% higher to $15.24, after Cowen and Company initiated coverage on the equity with an "outperform" rating and a $20 price target -- in a neighborhood not explored in four years. Looking back, Marvell Technology Group Ltd. has been sliding, with the shares down 10.6% from their Feb. 20 two-year high of $16.78 to close Wednesday at an even $15. However, traders have been picking up calls at an annual-high clip, as MRVL's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 11.48 is the highest such reading taken over the past year. Mirroring this indicator is the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.22, which stands in the 22nd percentile of its annual range. Said another way, short-term speculators have rarely been this call-skewed over the past year.