Analyst Update: PTC Therapeutics, Carnival, Veeva Systems

Analysts are weighing in today on biotech interest PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT), travel concern Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL), and software solutions provider Veeva Systems Inc (NYSE:VEEV). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on PTCT, CCL, and VEEV.

• PTCT was last seen trading at $30.35, down 4.4%, after Jefferies cut its rating on the stock to "underperform" from "hold" and slashed its price target to $18 from $26. The shares have been trending lower since March, and have lost 41.4% year-to-date. It seems that PTC Therapeutics, Inc. is probably sharing in some of the suffering from sector peer BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) on disappointing news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Just last month, PTCT reported that its drug for the same muscular disorder failed to meet final-stage trial goals, sending options traders into a frenzy. Bears have continued to pile on PTCT, as its 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) is 4.75 -- higher than 93% of readings from the past year.

• A bullish analyst note has CCL up 1.2% at $50.98. HSBC initiated coverage on Carnival Corp with a "buy" rating and a price target of $60 -- in record-high territory. The company announced yesterday that is adding two new ships to its P & O Cruise line in Australia and initiating buybacks under its $1 billion share repurchase program. The shares dipped by a dollar on the news, but is attempting to erase those losses today. Carnival Corp has had a strong performance on the charts this year, but analysts and traders remain relatively bearish. Half of the 14 firms covering CCL give it a lukewarm "hold" rating. And on the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, the stock's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.89 ranks in the 94th annual percentile. If sentiment shifts, Carnival Corp could easily continue higher.

• VEEV is 5% higher today at $ 28.72, after receiving no fewer than five price-target hikes from analysts -- ranging from $28 at Deutsche Bank to $35 at Canaccord Genuity -- after last night reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that beat estimates on the Street. The shares have been rocky since their March bear gap in response to a disappointing earnings report, but they have been trending steadily higher since late September. While analysts have a generally positive outlook on Veeva Systems Inc -- seven out of 10 firms rate it a "buy" or better -- traders have yet to change their tune. As of today, 18.2% of VEEV's available float is sold short -- an amount that would take nearly four whole weeks of trading to buy back at the stock's average pace of trading. If bears begin to abandon their positions, a short-covering rally could help the shares challenge stubborn resistance in the $29 area.