Analyst Upgrades: Twitter Inc, Array Biopharma Inc, and Eli Lilly and Co

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), Array Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ARRY), and Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY)

Karee Venema

Sep 27, 2016 at 9:27 AM

MSFT
DIS
TWTR
LLY
ARRY

Analysts are weighing in on microblogging takeover target Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), cancer specialist Array Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ARRY), and pharmaceutical stock Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on TWTR, ARRY, and LLY.

TWTR saw its price target raised to $17 from $16 at J.P. Morgan Securities, as buyout buzz swirls around the company -- with blue-chips Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) most recently added to the growing list of rumored suitors. Nevertheless, TWTR stock is down 0.4% in pre-market trading, after closing Monday at $23.37. Since hitting its most recent low near $17.50 in mid-September, shares of Twitter Inc have surged more than 33%, taking out previous resistance along the way. More bullish brokerage notes are certainly a possibility, too, considering 84% of covering analysts maintain a "hold" or worse recommendation.

Jefferies raised its price target on ARRY to $8 from $7, following yesterday's solid drug data for the company's melanoma treatment -- with Cantor Fitzgerald saying the results "set the stage for market commercialization." After settling last night at $6.61 -- up 81% on the day -- the shares of Array Biopharma Inc are 7.4% higher ahead of the bell, on track to notch a new annual high. The stock could find fresh tailwinds should short sellers capitulate to this positive price action. Short interest accounts for nearly 15% of ARRY's float, and would take more than seven sessions to cover, at the stock's average pace of trading.

LLY is up 2% in pre-market trading, after Goldman Sachs boosted its rating to "buy" from "neutral" and its price target to $95 from $89. The brokerage firm said it believes the company is entering "a long lasting period of accelerating revenue and EPS" -- and projected double-digit earnings growth for Eli Lilly and Co over the next five years. On the charts, LLY stock has added 17.1% since hitting an annual low of $67.88 in mid-March, at $79.52. Options traders, meanwhile, have shown a clear preference for long calls over puts in recent weeks. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), LLY's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 4.59 ranks in the 90th annual percentile.

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