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

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.