Analyst Update: Micron Technology, Inc., Baidu Inc (ADR), and West Pharmaceutical Services Inc.

Analysts are weighing in on Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), Baidu Inc (ADR) (BIDU), and West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (WST)

Sep 21, 2016 at 2:38 PM
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Analysts are weighing in on semiconductor stock Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), internet issue Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU), and healthcare concern West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (NYSE:WST). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on MU, BIDU, and WST.

  • MU is up 3.3% at $17.47, after Nomura raised its price target on the stock to $23 from $20, a level the shares haven't touched in well over a year. While the stock has been marching higher in recent months -- boasting a year-to-date lead of 23% -- Micron Technology, Inc.'s rally has encountered some trouble in the $17-$17.50 area. Meanwhile, options traders continue to bet on more gains for the shares. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), MU's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 4.05 not only shows long calls have outpaced puts 4-to-1 over the past two weeks, but it ranks higher than 77% of comparable readings taken in the past year.
  • Deutsche Bank increased its price target on BIDU to $219 from $182 -- in annual-high territory -- sending the shares 4.7% higher to $195.22. The stock has been rallying since late July, bringing it face to face with the $194-$195 region, an area that shut down multiple breakout attempts back in April. Meanwhile, Baidu Inc's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.07 sits in the 85th percentile of its 12-month range, indicating near-term speculators are unusually put-heavy toward the stock. Short interest on BIDU has been edging up, too, climbing 10.5% during the most recent two-week reporting period -- though less than 2% of the equity's available float is wrapped up in these bearish bets.
  • WST has dropped 8.6% to $74.30, after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to "market perform" from "outperform." The gap lower has West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. on track to close below its 80-day moving average for the first time since February, but the shares are still sitting on a healthy 23% year-over-year lead. This bearish brokerage note runs counter to the withstanding bias seen among the brokerage bunch. Heading into today's trading, three-quarters of analysts rated the stock a "strong buy," without a single "sell" on the books. 
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