NetApp, Disney, American Express Upgraded

Analysts are weighing in on tech stock NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP), blue-chip media name Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS), and credit card issuer American Express Company (NYSE:AXP). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on NTAP, DIS, and AXP.

NetApp Upgraded At Goldman Sachs

NTAP is up 1.8% at $38.44, after an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral" at Goldman Sachs, which also hiked its price target to $43 from $36 -- territory not charted since December 2014 -- saying it expects the company to "return to growth" in the current quarter. Today's positive price action is just more of the same, with NetApp Inc. shares up 75.8% year-over-year, within a chip-shot of taking out their Nov. 17 annual high at $39, after recently bouncing off their 80-day moving average. A continued round of upgrades could push the shares even higher, given that, before today, 23 of 26 analysts rated the shares a lukewarm "hold" or worse.

Disney Higher After Upgrade, "Attractive" Media Rating

DIS is up 0.2% at $109.52 -- fresh off a 12-month peak of $109.94 -- following some bullish analyst attention. Morgan Stanley raised its view on the North American media industry to "attractive" from "cautious," citing "emerging tailwinds from new bundles," and potential benefits from new tax policies. In addition, the brokerage firm upgraded DIS to "overweight" and boosted its price target to a record-high $124 from $101, while Jefferies issued a separate price-target hike to $100 from $92. The shares recently bounced off their 20-day moving average, and are now up more than 21% since their near-term October lows. Short-term option players are more call-skewed now than at any other point in the past 12 months, with Walt Disney Co's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.44 sitting at an annual low.

American Express Upgraded at KBW

AXP is 0.2% higher at $77.00, after an upgrade to "outperform" from "market perform" at KBW, which also upped its price target to $91 from $81 -- two-year-high territory. AXP is up 29% from its mid-October lows, with recent pullbacks contained by its 20-day moving average. With AXP's SOIR of 1.23 ranked in the 86th percentile of its annual range, near-term option players are more put-biased than usual towards American Express Company. However, in the past 20 trading sessions, speculators at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) have sold to open 1.60 puts for each one they've purchased.