Analyst Upgrades: Paypal Holdings Inc, Costco Wholesale Corporation, and Schlumberger Limited

Analysts are weighing in on payment technology firm Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL), bulk retailer Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST), and commodity concern Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on PYPL, COST, and SLB.

• PYPL is pointed 2.7% higher ahead of the bell, after Goldman Sachs added the stock to its "Americas Conviction Buy" list. The brokerage firm also maintained a $45 price target -- in uncharted territory for the eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) spin-off -- ahead of earnings on Wednesday evening. In addition, Cantor Fitzgerald said it expects Paypal Holdings Inc to "report healthy 3Q results, in line with Street expectations," and reiterated its own "buy" rating and $45 target. Should the company report stronger-than-expected figures, quite a few bears could be caught off-guard; short interest surged nearly 25% during the past two reporting periods. On Friday, PYPL settled at $34.99, down 7.9% from its July 20 debut. 

• COST is flirting with a 0.8% lead in pre-market action, after UBS upgraded the stock's rating to "buy" from "neutral" and hiked its price target to $180 from $153 -- in record-high territory. It's already been a banner month for Costco Wholesale Corporation, with the stock up 7.7% and just off an all-time best of $158.80, tagged on Friday, before the shares settled at $155.74. Most analysts are already optimistic toward COST, which sports 13 "buy" or better ratings, compared to seven lukewarm "holds" and not a single "sell." On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.50 stands higher than two-thirds of all other readings from the past year, pointing to a healthier-than-usual appetite for bullish bets over bearish of late.

• SLB is toying around breakeven at $78.35, despite a price-target hike to $88 at Jefferies. The shares marched higher with the broader equities market last week, settling at their highest close since Aug. 20. Still, Schlumberger Limited remains 8.3% lower on the year, yet option players have been buying to open calls over puts at a rapid-fire rate. The equity's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 2.13 sits just 1 percentage point from an annual high. Should SLB back down from resistance at its 20-week moving average, an exodus of option bulls could exacerbate long-term selling pressure.