Analyst Upgrades: Facebook, Hologic, Extra Space Storage

Analysts are weighing in today on social network giant Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), diagnostic expert Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX), and real estate investment trust Extra Space Storage, Inc. (NYSE:EXR). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on FB, HOLX, and EXR.

• FB is up 1.3% ahead of the open, after Cantor raised its price target on the stock to $100 from $92, while maintaining its "buy" opinion. The security should be used to the bullish attention by now -- 25 out of 27 brokerage firms say it's a "buy" or better. Traders at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), meanwhile, have remained call-heavy. Over the past 10 days across these exchanges, more than 260,000 Facebook Inc calls have been bought to open, compared to roughly 106,000 puts. On the charts, FB has rallied over 26% year-over-year to trade at $85.76, touching an all-time high of $89.40 on June 25. In other news, the company last evening announced a new video advertising option for marketers. 


• So far in 2015, HOLX is 42% higher at $38.06 -- touching a record peak of $38.55 on June 26 -- and that hot streak could be set to continue today, thanks to Cowen and Company. The brokerage firm upped its price target on the shares to $40 from $35. Other analysts aren't too sure of Hologic, Inc., with half of those covering HOLX saying it's a "hold" or worse. Many traders share this pessimism. Short interest jumped over 21% during the last two reporting periods, and now represents more than a week's worth of buying power, at the stock's average daily volume.


• It has been a rough couple weeks for EXR. Specifically, the shares gave back close to 7% in June, and settled at $65.22 yesterday. Regardless, BofA-Merrill Lynch initiated coverage on the stock with a "buy" rating. The other nine brokerage firms tracking Extra Space Storage, Inc. are mixed, with five calling it a "buy" or better, and the other four saying the security is only a "hold." Elsewhere, speculative players aren't exactly split in their opinions of EXR. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.99 arrives in the 100th percentile of its annual range, as short-term options traders are showing a greater skew toward puts over calls now than at any other time over the past year. 

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