Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), and Facebook Inc (FB)
Analysts are weighing in on semiconductor stock
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), online retail giant
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and social media name
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on NVDA, AMZN, and FB.
- NVDA is on pace to open at yet another record high today, up 2.2% in pre-market trading. Driving this morning's gains is a price-target hike to $130 from $95 at Argus, which reiterated its "buy" rating, saying the company is "reminiscent of Apple in its explosive growth phase." NVIDIA Corporation could stand to benefit from more attention of this kind, considering analysts' average 12-month price target of $92.65 sits at a 21% discount to NVDA's Tuesday close at $117.32. Not to mention, 10 brokerage firms still rate the equity a "hold" or worse, suggesting future upgrades could boost the shares to higher highs.
- AMZN is up 0.7% ahead of the bell, after Evercore ISI called out the retailer as its top pick for 2017, citing the company's leveraging of data to drive sales. The stock has added 14.1% in 2016 to trade at $771.40, and since pulling back from October's record highs, Amazon.com, Inc. has been consolidating above support at the 160-day moving average. Options traders seem to be betting on a breakout to the upside -- the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.24 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks in the high 84th percentile of its annual range. Simply stated, calls have been bought to open over puts at a faster-than-usual clip.
- FB also received a nod from Evercore ISI. The brokerage firm listed FB stock as one of its "Internet buys," noting the company's position as a leader in audience scale and engagement. Facebook Inc is up 0.1% in electronic trading, after finishing Tuesday at $118.01. Despite a longer-term uptrend, the stock has lagged the broader market in recent months. In fact, FB has underperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 16 percentage points over the past 40 sessions. That could explain why some bears have begun to set their sights on the stock -- short interest on FB jumped by 35% during the two most recent reporting periods. Continued selling pressure from these bearish bettors could create additional headwinds for the shares.
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