CREE is pointed almost 5% higher before the open
Analysts are weighing in on light bulb producer Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ:CREE), social media stock Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), and chipmaker Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on shares of CREE, TWTR, and AVGO.
Deutsche Bank Bullish on Cree's Wolfspeed Business
Cree stock is up 4.6% before the open, thanks to an upgrade to "buy" at Deutsche Bank, which boosted its price target to $45 from $26. The brokerage firm said it believes the company's Wolfspeed business unit is "underappreciated." The price target is a more than 32% premium to Friday's close at $34.06, and comes following a three-month surge of almost 41% from CREE shares.
Still, short sellers continue to swarm the security. Over the last two reporting periods, these bearish bets increased by another 9.5%, and account for nearly 15% of the stock's float. Going by average daily volumes, this equals almost two weeks' worth of buying power.
More Upgrades a Possibility for TWTR Stock
Twitter shares are off 0.9% in pre-market trading despite an upgrade to "neutral" from "sell" at Citigroup, which also lifted its price target to $20 from $15. TWTR stock closed last week at $19.90, recently bouncing from the $19-$19.50 area that's served as both support and resistance over the past year. Overall, the equity has managed to add 22.1% year-to-date.
Still, most analysts are hesitant to get behind Twitter, with not a single one of the 26 covering brokerages recommending to buy the stock. A continued round of upgrades could eventually attract new buyers to TWTR's table.
Broadcom Stock Eyes Higher Highs Amid QCOM News
Broadcom stock is up 2.3% in electronic trading, following news of the company's unsolicited takeover bid of Qualcomm (QCOM) for $103 billion, or $70 per QCOM share -- potentially the largest tech deal on record. QCOM stock closed last week at $61.81. AVGO, meanwhile, hit a record high of $278 on Friday, before settling at $273.63 -- up 58.1% during the past 12 months. And just this morning, Instinet upped its price target to $300 from $275.
Meanwhile, options traders have been betting on more upside. The semiconductor stock has a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 2.32 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), ranking in the 73rd annual percentile. This means call buying has been more popular than normal, relative to put buying.