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