Analysts upwardly revised their ratings on Facebook Inc (FB), Twitter Inc (TWTR), and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN)
Analysts are weighing in on social media giants Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), as well as biotech BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on FB, TWTR, and BMRN.
- After yesterday's close, Wedbush initiated coverage on FB with an "outperform" rating and a $115 price target -- which would mark all-time-high territory for the shares. Since peaking at $99.24 on July 21, the stock has been churning, with the $95 area acting as resistance. In the meantime, short sellers have stepped in, with short interest on Facebook Inc increasing by almost 48% during the two most recent reporting periods. If bears continue to target the shares, FB could face headwinds going forward. The security settled at $90.95 on Thursday, and is down 2% in pre-market trading.
- Wedbush also weighed in on sector peer TWTR last evening, starting the stock with a "neutral" rating and $30 price target. Recently, the security has struggled, as the Street awaits the company's next CEO. Looking at the charts, Twitter Inc has underperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 17 percentage points in the past three months, touching an all-time low of $21.01 on Aug. 24, and settling yesterday at $24.68. Now it appears the equity's 10-week moving average could continue to apply pressure in the near term, as the shares topped out right at this level earlier in the week. This trendline has been ushering the shares lower since early May.
- BMRN is 8.5% lower ahead of the open, despite a price-target hike to $157 from $148 at Raymond James. This echoes yesterday's late-afternoon action from Nomura, which boosted its target price for BMRN amid news the company re-acquired the rights for a genetic disorder drug from Germany's Merck KGaA. Both levels mark significant upside to BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.'s Thursday close at $109.79, but the stock is a long-term outperformer, gaining 21.4% in 2015. This may be why options traders have been so bullish. BMRN's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio stands at 4.43 -- higher than two-thirds of all readings from the past year.
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