Analyst Upgrades: Amazon.com, Inc., SolarCity Corp, and Yelp Inc

Analysts are weighing in on e-commerce concern Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), renewable energy issue SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY), and online review firm Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on AMZN, SCTY, and YELP.

• AMZN is pointed 2.4% higher ahead of the bell, thanks to well-received plans to compete with Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) in Japan and another dose of upbeat analyst attention. Not even a week after NFLX announced its Sept. 2 launch, Amazon.com, Inc. said it will launch its Amazon Prime streaming service in Japan next month. Meanwhile, Raymond James upgraded AMZN to "strong buy," echoing the bullish bias on the Street; the stock boasts 22 "buy" or better ratings, compared to seven "holds." On the charts, AMZN just enjoyed its best day of the year, settling at $500.77.

• SCTY is headed for a 5.1% gain, after Morgan Stanley upped its opinion to "overweight." The stock has given up nearly 26% in August, pressured by its 10-day moving average, and just touched an annual low of $34.65 on Monday. As such, it's not surprising to see short-term option traders loaded up on puts; the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) sits at an annual high of 1.90. Echoing that, short interest accounts for a whopping 52% of SolarCity Corp's total available float. SCTY ended at $43.05 yesterday.

• YELP is poised for a 3% pop out of the gate, after the beleaguered stock was upgraded to "neutral" from "sell" at B. Riley. The brokerage firm cited signs of improvement in traffic, though it doesn't "think that YELP is out of the woods." The stock has surrendered 57.3% in 2015, and just touched a two-year low of $20.50 earlier this week, before settling yesterday at $23.38. Despite the stock's struggles, option traders have picked up calls over puts at a rapid-fire rate. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Yelp Inc's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 4.49 sits in the 89th percentile of its annual range. An unwinding of optimism in the options pits could pressure the shares lower.

Get the skinny on all the biggest stories of the morning… Sign up now to get Schaeffer's Midday Market Check delivered straight to your inbox!