Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA), Galena Biopharma Inc (GALE), and Kate Spade & Co (KATE)
Analysts are weighing in on car maker
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), drug stock
Galena Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:GALE), and retail concern
Kate Spade & Co (NYSE:KATE). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on TSLA, GALE, and KATE.
- TSLA is up 1.1% in pre-market trading after Baird named the stock its top pick for 2017. An analyst at the firm noted, "We believe TSLA's energy storage business and growth opportunity is not currently reflected in share prices." Tesla Motors Inc is seated on a 10.6% year-to-date loss at $214.68, and accordingly, both analysts and traders have been broadly pessimistic. In fact, near-term options traders have taken an extremely put-skewed approach, per TSLA's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.82 -- an annual high. Separately, after running up the charts through much of December, the stock now sports a 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 66, verging on overbought.
- Maxim Group reiterated a "buy" rating and $4 price target on GALE, which is up 0.5% ahead of the bell, after finishing Thursday at $2.05. The brokerage reaffirmed its bullish outlook on the stock following upbeat feedback for the company's platelet disorder treatment, GALE-401, with a pivotal study expected to begin in the second quarter of 2017. It's hardly been smooth sailing for Galena Biopharma Inc this year, though. The shares have shed 93% of their value in 2016, and hit a record low of $1.84 earlier this month. As such, short interest on the stock has been on the rise, and now represents 12.7% of GALE's available float.
- KATE received a price-target hike to $18 from $15 at SunTrust Robinson following this week's news the company may be exploring a sale. Heading into this week, however, Kate Spade & Co was nothing to write home about, having shed nearly half its value from its late-April annual high. But in the past few sessions, the stock has muscled back into positive year-to-date territory -- and is up another 0.2% ahead of the bell, after closing last night at $18.49 -- likely to the delight of bullish options traders. In fact, nearly 10 KATE calls have been bought to open for each put over the past 10 weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Moreover, the resulting call/put volume ratio of 9.66 ranks higher than 70% of the past year's readings.
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