Morgan Stanley lifted its price target to $341, which constitutes uncharted territory for DE
The shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) are up 2.5% at $258.97 this morning, after Morgan Stanley lifted the stock's price target to $341 from $335. Oppenheimer also chimed in, initiating coverage with an "outperform" rating and a $296 price target -- which is nearly 15% higher than current levels.
While the majority of analysts covering DE considered it a "buy" or better coming into today, five of the 13 brokerages following the stock still carried "hold" or worse ratings, leaving the door wide open for additional upgrades. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus price target of $285.33 is a 10.1% premium to current levels.
These bull notes should come as no surprise, though. DE has been steadily climbing up the charts over the past seven months, with pullbacks captured by the 30- and 50-day moving averages. The stock now sports a nine-month lead of 104.4%, and is trading within a chip shot of its Nov. 9 all-time high of $265.87
An unwinding of bearish bets in the options pits could propel DE higher, too. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), 1.03 puts have been picked up for every call during the past 10 days. This ratio stands in the slightly elevated 60th percentile of the stock's annual range, suggesting an unusual uptick in put buying.