Analyst Upgrades: Hewlett-Packard, AbbVie, MGM Resorts

Analysts are weighing in on computer hardware issue Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), drugmaker AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV), and gaming giant MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on HPQ, ABBV, and MGM.

• HPQ will start trading separately from Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) today, prompting a number of analysts to weigh in on the former. Specifically, Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Hewlett-Packard Company with an "outperform" rating and $19 price target, and Needham started coverage with a "buy" assessment and $14.50 target. Meanwhile, RBC and BofA-Merrill Lynch revised their respective price targets to $13 and $17 to account for the split, which will have HPQ opening around $12.24. In recent weeks, option traders have been betting bearishly on the stock, per its 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.44 across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Not only do long puts outstrip calls according to this ratio, but it also registers in the 94th percentile of its annual range.

• Credit Suisse boosted its price target on ABBV to $78 from $77, pointing to the company's strong third-quarter results and full-year guidance -- which sent the shares 10% higher on Friday, to settle at $59.55. Nonetheless, the stock remains at a 9% year-to-date deficit, and option traders have been rolling the dice on losses for the past few months. Specifically, AbbVie Inc's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio stands at a 12-month high of 1.56, pointing to an extreme preference for bearish bets over bullish.

• MGM, which has already advanced 8.5% in 2015 to trade at $23.19, is pointed another 2.2% higher pre-market after UBS upped its rating to "buy" and Susquehanna lifted its price target to $31. Sparking the upward revisions was hope that declines in Macau gambling revenue will finally begin to ease after 17 straight months. In fact, positive momentum continues to build on MGM Resorts International, following last week's spin-off news, and the stock could take out its previous annual high of $23.70 today. This is music to the ears of option traders, who have been betting bullishly of late. MGM's 20-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio registers at a top-heavy 7.54, with more than seven calls bought to open for each put during the last four weeks.