Analyst Update: Healthways, Inc., Depomed Inc, and Opko Health Inc.

U.S. stocks are higher as traders await the outcome of today's presidential election. Among stocks in focus are health management concern Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY), and biotech stocks Depomed Inc (NASDAQ:DEPO) and Opko Health Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on HWAY, DEPO, and OPK.

• HWAY is trading up 10.4% at $21.98, after UBS upgraded the healthcare management stock to "buy" from "sell," and bumped its price target to $24 from $22.50. The analysts cited a "more attractive valuation" after the stock's recent sell-off, and said HWAY "could benefit from continued M&A growth." HWAY has dropped almost 20% since notching a nearly-eight-year high of $27.30 in late September, gapping notably lower last week after an earnings miss, but the security remains almost 70% higher year-to-date. However, part of today's bump could have been in the cards for Healthways, Inc. shares, as the stock's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 22 sat in "oversold" territory before today.

• Similar to this fellow drugmaker, DEPO is taking it on the chin today, down 18.6% at $18.62, after delivering a disappointing earnings report and cutting its full-year forecast. Subsequently, Cantor Fitzgerald cut DEPO's rating to "hold" from "buy," while JMP slashed its price target to $33 from $35. This puts DEPO down over 31% since touching an annual high of $27.01 in late September, and on pace to close below its 200-day moving average for the first time since May. Although DEPO's short interest is down nearly 20% over the last reporting period, shorted shares still account for 21.8% of Depomed Inc's float, which would take six days of trading to cover, at DEPO's average daily rate. Today, however, DEPO has been relegated to the short-sale restricted list.

• OPK is also having a rough day after reporting earnings last night, with the shares down 7% at $9.05. In addition, OPK received a price-target cut to $15 from $16 by Barrington today. OPK is now down 9.9% for the year, although the shares' intraday losses were limited by the $8.80-$9 region, which has contained several pullbacks since June. A few option players could be kicking rocks after today's plunge, with Opko Health Inc.'s Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.57 sitting at an annual low, indicating near-term option traders haven't been more call-skewed in the past 12 months. However, some of this could be attributed to short sellers hedging their bets, with OPK's short interest up 7.5% in the last two reporting periods, now accounting for 21.2% of OPK's float, which would take over four weeks of trading to cover, at the stock's average daily rate.