Analyst Upgrades: Groupon Inc, Transocean LTD, and Twilio Inc

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN), Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), and Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO)

Karee Venema

Jul 18, 2016 at 9:23 AM

Analysts are weighing in on e-commerce concern Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN), energy stock Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), and cloud company Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO). Here's a quick roundup of today bullish brokerage notes on GRPN, RIG, and TWLO.

Shares of GRPN are up nearly 9% ahead of the bell, thanks to an upgrade to "overweight" from "neutral" and a price-target hike to $6 from $4 at Piper Jaffray. Specifically, the brokerage firm said Wall Street is not pricing in Groupon Inc's "newly acquired customers," and that the company "excels at the local deal." Although the shares remain 31% lower year-over-year -- based on Friday's close at $3.49 -- today's projected price move could have GRPN climbing back above its late-April post-bear gap close. Nevertheless, there are plenty of traders betting against Groupon Inc. Short interest accounts for 14.1% of the stock's available float, or 9.1 times the average daily pace of trading.

Wells Fargo raised its rating on RIG to "market perform" from "underperform" -- bucking the skeptical stance most analysts have taken -- although this upgrade has failed to move the stock in electronic trading. However, the shares of Transocean LTD have been tracking oil's recent rebound, with RIG up 37.4% from its late-May low at $8.84, and closed Friday at $12.15. Options traders, meanwhile, have been initiating long calls over puts at a faster-than-usual clip in recent weeks. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), RIG's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.37 ranks in the 76th annual percentile.

Analysts have set their sights on Wall Street freshman TWLO. William Blair, for instance, initiated coverage on the stock with an upbeat "outperform" rating, while no fewer than five other brokerage firms started coverage with the equivalent of a "hold" recommendation. The shares have been on fire since their June 23 IPO, up more than 79% at $43.00, and fresh off Thursday's record high of $44.80. As such, Twilio Inc's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) settled last week at 73 -- in overbought territory -- suggesting a near-term breather may be in the cards. This morning, TWLO is pointed 4.5% lower ahead of the bell.

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