Analyst Upgrades: Amazon.com, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., and Imperva Inc

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), and Imperva Inc (NYSE:IMPV)

Karee Venema

Sep 23, 2016 at 9:13 AM

Analysts are weighing in on e-commerce name Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Dow stock Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), and cybersecurity firm Imperva Inc (NYSE:IMPV). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on AMZN, CSCO, and IMPV.

After rallying to a record high of $805.89 yesterday in the wake of an upbeat analyst note, AMZN saw its price target raised to $950 from $855 at Mizuho. While the shares are 0.2% lower in pre-market trading, AMZN stock remains up 19% year-to-date, based on last night's close at $804.70. Not surprisingly, most analysts are already in AMZN's bullish corner, with 26 of 29 maintaining a "buy" or better rating on the stock. Separately, Amazon.com, Inc.'s Echo could be getting some competition, with Bloomberg reporting Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is moving forward with its version of the smart-home device.

Raymond James raised its price target on CSCO to $34 from $32 -- representing expected upside of 7.4% to last night's close at $31.66, and a move into territory not seen since November 2007. On the sentiment front, short sellers have been throwing in the towel on CSCO, given the stock's impressive 16.6% year-to-date lead. Short interest plunged 17.5% in the most recent reporting period, and now accounts for less than 1% of Cisco Systems, Inc.'s available float. Elsewhere, the tech firm has been in the M&A spotlight of late, with rumors swirling it could be preparing to scoop up a cybersecurity company.

IMPV is one of the names being tossed around as a potential takeover target for Cisco, according to Bloomberg. This buyout buzz has been building for awhile, with International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) and ForcePoint also in the mix of possible suitors. Regardless, the shares of IMPV are up 16.5% in electronic trading, after JMP Securities raised its price target on the stock to $56 from $50. Today's projected price pop could have Imperva Inc -- which closed last night at $43.39 -- breaking out above recent resistance near $48. This could certainly have short sellers spooked, too. Although short interest plunged 23.6% in the two most recent reporting periods, these bearish bets still account for a healthy 9.5% of IMPV's float, or six times its average daily trading volume.

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