Analyst Update: Visa, Capital One, Skyworks Solutions

Analysts are weighing in today on credit card issues Visa Inc (NYSE:V) and Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF), as well as integrated circuit specialist Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on V, COF, and SWKS.

• V jumped to a record high of $76.92 earlier on a huge earnings beat, and was last seen up 4.5% at $74.97. Further stoking the stock's bullish flames is a round of price-target hikes from roughly a dozen analysts, the most ambitious of which came courtesy of SunTrust Robinson (to $90 from $78). Longer term, Visa Inc is enjoying a more than 14% year-to-date lead, and could get a lift if short sellers start throwing in the towel. Close to 61 million shares are sold short, representing nearly two weeks' worth of pent-up buying pressure, at V's average trading levels.
  


• Rival COF, by contrast, is taking it on the chin. At last check, the stock is down 11.9% at $80.01 -- the result of an earnings miss and bearish brokerage attention. Among the six analysts weighing in on Capital One Financial Corp., Goldman Sachs removed the security from its "America's Conviction Buy" list, lowered its rating to "neutral" from "buy," and slashed its price target to $91 from $103. This is likely music to the ears of put buyers at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). During the last two weeks across that trio of exchanges, speculators have bought to open two times as many COF puts as calls. COF's resultant put/call volume ratio of 2.05 sits a mere 6 percentage points from an annual peak.


• SWKS has surrendered 4.1% to trade at $98.93, despite upbeat quarterly results and guidance. The drop is especially peculiar, given that no fewer than 11 analysts upped their price targets on the security, with Canaccord Genuity setting the highest benchmark, at $132 -- never-before-seen territory. Despite the technical hiccup, Skyworks Solutions Inc remains a long-term outperformer -- up 36% on the year, and approaching a recent level of support at its 120-day moving average. Should the stock resume its trek north, there's plenty of pessimism in the options pits to fuel the fire. Specifically, SWKS' 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 0.65 outstrips 83% of comparable readings from the previous 52 weeks.

For other stocks in analysts' crosshairs, read Analyst Upgrades: Amazon.com, Inc., Starbucks Corporation, and Juniper Networks, Inc. and Analyst Downgrades: TripAdvisor Inc, TrueCar Inc, and Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.