Analyst Upgrades: GoDaddy, Coca-Cola, and Herbalife

Analysts are weighing in today on domain marketplace GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY), bottling baron Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (NYSE:CCE), and nutritional supplements marketer Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on GDDY, CCE, and HLF.

• GDDY reported mixed second-quarter results last night, but that hasn't stopped a handful of brokerages from boosting their price targets. Among them, J.P. Morgan Securities lifted its target to $37 from $33, while JMP Securities hiked its price target to $32 from $30. Ahead of the bell, though, GoDaddy Inc. is off 1.9%. Since touching a record high of $33 in mid-June, the stock has had a rough time, losing 10.7% to settle Wednesday at $29.47. However, most analysts have taken a glass-half-full approach toward the underperformer. Ninety percent of brokerages have doled out "buy" or better recommendations on GDDY, and its consensus 12-month price target of $31.80 stands in territory not charted in more than a month. By contrast, the options pits have been unusually put-skewed, as we noted yesterday.


• CCE is poised to pop 4% at the open, due to major merger news -- which confirmed earlier rumors -- and a price-target revision to $55 from $52 at Goldman Sachs. Already, it's been a standout 2015 for the stock, which has surged 17.2% to trade at $51.84, and last week touched a record high of $52.30. Nevertheless, short sellers have been piling on. Over the last two reporting periods, short interest on Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc more than doubled. However, these bearish bets still represent less than 2% of the equity's float, and would take less than two days to cover, at CCE's average daily volume.


• HLF is fresh off a second-quarter earnings beat, and is ready to soar 9% at the opening bell. In addition, the company upped its full-year profit forecast. Canaccord Genuity responded to the upbeat news, boosting its price target to $58 from $53. So far this year, Herbalife Ltd. has shot over 30% higher, and closed at $49.10 yesterday. Not surprisingly, traders at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) have been buying to open calls over puts at an accelerated rate. HLF's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.65 ranks in the 91st percentile of its annual range.

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