Analyst Update: Carnival, Chipotle, and Netflix

Analysts are weighing in today on cruise concern Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL), burrito baron Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), and streaming content provider Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on CCL, CMG, and NFLX.

• CCL is fresh off a multi-year high of $50.65, after Deutsche Bank raised its assessment to "buy" from "hold." The brokerage firm expects Carnival Corp -- which will enter the earnings confessional tomorrow morning -- to post fiscal second-quarter results above the upper end of its guidance. At last check, the stock was still 1.7% higher at $49.77, and has soared 50% since its mid-October low of $33.11. Should CCL muscle to even higher highs, additional analysts could be forced to upwardly revise their ratings. Currently, more than half of the brokerage firms tracking the stock consider it a "hold" or worse, and the average 12-month price target of $52.35 stands at a slim 5.2% premium to current trading levels.


• CMG has tacked on 0.5% to trade at $618.47, as broad-market tailwinds overshadow a price-target cut to $725 from $770 at Credit Suisse. Longer term, however, the shares have struggled -- off 15% since reaching a record high of $727.97 in early January. That hasn't stopped options traders from betting bullishly on Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. During the past 10 days at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), speculators have bought to open 1.24 calls for every put -- a ratio that outstrips 93% of comparable readings from the previous 12 months.


• BTIG upped its price target on NFLX to $950 -- in record-high territory, and the loftiest outlook on Wall Street -- saying the company's business model is "gaining meaningful momentum." As such, the stock has jumped 2.4% to $673 -- 97% higher than where it ended 2014. Options traders have been on Netflix, Inc.'s bullish bandwagon for some time. The stock's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 1.11 sits a mere 8 percentage points from a 52-week high.