Analyst Upgrades: Amazon, LinkedIn, and eBay Inc

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings on Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), LinkedIn Corp (LNKD), and eBay Inc (EBAY)

Jul 15, 2015 at 9:08 AM

Analysts are weighing in today on online retailer Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), social networking site LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), and Internet auction house eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on AMZN, LNKD, and EBAY.

AMZN has gotten off on the right foot this "Prime Day" morning, receiving a $55 price-target hike to $505 (uncharted territory for the stock) from Monness Crespi Hardt. The bullish note could allow the shares to add to their year-to-date lead of 50%, as of Tuesday's close at $465.57. There's potential for more positive analyst attention, too. Thirteen of 28 brokerages still consider Amazon.com, Inc. worthy of just a "hold" rating. Plus, the stock's consensus 12-month price target of $473.53 stands at a slim 1.7% premium to current trading levels.

Barclays upgraded its opinion of LNKD to "overweight" from "equal weight," and raised its price target to $250 from $225, commenting that the issues that plagued the company's first-quarter results and full-year outlook are "transitory not structural." Ahead of the open, the shares -- which have lost nearly 7% in 2015, and have been churning in the $205-$220 range since early June -- are up 2.6%. Meanwhile, traders at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) have grown bullish in recent months. LinkedIn Corp's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.47 ranks just 11 percentage points from an annual high. In other words, speculators have rarely bought to open calls over puts at a more rapid rate.

EBAY will be replaced on the S&P 100 Index (OEX) this Friday by the company it's spinning off -- Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPLV). Ahead of this event -- as well as tomorrow morning's eBay Inc earnings report -- Benchmark upped its price target on the security to $71. The positive note is well-deserved, considering the stock touched a record high of $64.29 yesterday, before settling at $63.59 -- up more than 13% on the year. Bullish betting has been intense on the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, as well. EBAY's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 4.90 indicates nearly five calls have been bought to open for every put in recent weeks. What's more, this ratio ranks in the 93rd percentile of its 52-week range. Ahead of the open, the shares are pointed 1.2% north.

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