Analyst Update: Barracuda Networks, Novavax, NVIDIA

Analysts adjusted their ratings on Barracuda Networks Inc (CUDA), Novavax, Inc. (NVAX), and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)

Sep 30, 2015 at 12:11 PM

Analysts are weighing in today on data security and storage firm Barracuda Networks Inc (NYSE:CUDA), vaccine company Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX), and chipmaker NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on CUDA, NVAX, and NVDA.

CUDA has plunged 33% to trade at $15.81 (and tagged a record low of $15.46 earlier) after analysts reacted to the firm's sales miss and downwardly revised full-year guidance. No fewer than seven analysts weighed in on Barracuda Networks Inc, with Piper Jaffray downgrading its opinion to "neutral" from "overweight" and halving its price target to $20. Other notable price-target cuts came from Guggenheim (to $29 from $45) and Pacific Crest (to $32 from $49). Amid the stock's woeful long-term performance, bearish option players have stocked up on CUDA puts over calls. The firm's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.07 ranks in the 97th annual percentile, and its 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.45 on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits just 4% from a 52-week high.

Yesterday, NVAX plunged 21% despite positive news about its RSV vaccine. Today, though, shares of Novavax, Inc. are 14.5% higher at $7.34 after the drugmaker last night released another round of positive top-line data. Short sellers have been stockpiling bearish bets against the equity, with 11% of its float sold short -- and some of them may be abandoning their pessimistic positions amid today's bounce. If the stock continues to buck the downward trend of the broader biotech sector, it would take six sessions to cover. Citigroup still isn't sold on the shares, however, cutting its price target to $16 from $18.

Late yesterday, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) announced that it will produce a new 10.2-inch Android tablet. The search behemoth tabbed NVDA's Tegra X1 chip to power the system -- the first time this new chip will be used in a mobile device. In the wake of this news, JMP Securities raised NVIDIA Corporation's target price to $30 from $28, following a similar move earlier this month from Jefferies. The note has helped push the chipmaker's stock 2.5% higher to $24.29, down slightly from an intraday (and four-year) peak of $24.56. With 12 of the 20 analysts following NVDA rating it a "hold" or worse, we could see the shares boosted by more upgrades.

For other stocks in analysts' crosshairs, read Analyst Upgrades: Costco Wholesale Corporation, Ralph Lauren Corp, and Esperion Therapeutics Inc and Analyst Downgrades: Gap Inc, Baidu Inc, and Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobas SA.

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