Analyst Upgrades: EXACT Sciences Corporation, Monster Beverage Corporation, and Tripadvisor Inc

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on EXACT Sciences Corporation (EXAS), Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST), and Tripadvisor Inc (TRIP)

Jun 15, 2016 at 10:13 AM

Analysts are weighing in on biotech EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS), energy drink maker Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST), and travel stock Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on EXAS, MNST, and TRIP.

EXAS is up 10.9% at $10.40 ahead of an appearance today at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference. Sparking today's jump is a price-target hike to $12 from $9 at Canaccord Genuity. EXACT Sciences Corporation has more than doubled since hitting a five-year low of $4.67 in March, and yesterday, reclaimed its 200-day moving average for the first time since July. EXAS remains a long-term laggard, though, down 61% year-over-year, thanks in part to last October's bear gap. Short sellers have been betting on more losses, too, considering 21.2% of the stock's float is sold short.

MNST is up 1.1% at $154.72, after SunTrust Robinson raised its price target to $145 from $140. Additionally, the company announced the results of its $2 billion tender offer following yesterday's shareholder's meeting. Technically, Monster Beverage Corporation has surged 37% since hitting an annual low of $113.08 in mid-February, and came within a chip-shot of taking out its Dec. 7 record high of $160.50 last Thursday. While nine of 12 analysts rate MNST a "buy" or better, speculative players aren't so sure. Short interest, for instance, jumped 67% over the last two reporting periods. Plus, MNST's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) of 1.81 sitting in the 81st percentile of its annual range.

TRIP is up 1.3% at $65.93, after Cowen and Company issued a price-target hike to $70 from $65. Nevertheless, Tripadvisor Inc has lost nearly a quarter of its value so far this year. While options traders have shown an affinity for long calls, 13.5% of TRIP's float is sold short -- an amount that would take 8.2 days of trading to cover, at the stock's average daily volume. Meanwhile, all but two of the 18 analysts covering the shares maintain a "hold" or worse recommendation.

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