Analyst Upgrades: AT&T, Bank of America, and GrubHub

Analysts are weighing in today on telecommunications juggernaut AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), financial concern Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), and food delivery service GrubHub Inc (NYSE:GRUB). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on T, BAC, and GRUB.

• With the company possibly one step closer to closing its deal with DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV), T is basking in positive analyst attention this morning. Bernstein raised its price target on the stock to $38 from $34, while Cowen and Company upgraded T to "outperform" from "market perform." The latter firm also raised its price target to $40 from $35, citing expected benefits from the DTV deal, and noting that the stock is historically cheap at the moment.
  
  While AT&T Inc. is heavily shorted -- short interest represents 10 times the stock's average daily trading volume -- near-term speculators have taken a call-skewed approach. T's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.64 not only indicates call open interest trumps put open interest among options expiring within three months or less, but also ranks just three percentage points from an annual low. In other words, short-term traders have been much more interested in calls over puts than normal. The shares settled at $35.57 yesterday -- almost 6% higher on a year-to-date basis. 


• Raymond James weighed in on several financial stocks this morning, and for BAC, this meant a price-target hike to $19 from $18. This marks territory the stock hasn't reached since April 2010, though it represents a relatively reasonable 10.3% premium to yesterday's close at $17.22. Bank of America Corp earlier this week pulled back to meet its rising 40-day moving average amid the turmoil in Greece, as option traders continue to target calls. The equity's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 5.24 outranks 75% of similar readings from the past year. In other words, call buying has been popular lately. 


• Late Wednesday, RBC raised its opinion on GRUB to "outperform" from "sector perform," but also lowered its price target to $42 from $46. The shares didn't fare too well during the first half of 2015, as they're 12.8% lower year-to-date. Regardless, analysts have kept their feet planted on the bulls' side of the aisle. Of the 13 brokerage firms with coverage on GrubHub Inc (NYSE:GRUB), 11 say it's a "strong buy."