J.P. Morgan Securities made MDT a large-cap pick for 2021
The shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) are up 0.3% at $114.74 at last check, after J.P. Morgan Securities made the stock a large-cap pick for 2021 and hiked its price target to $130 from $122. The firm cited the company's new CEO and operating model, and a strong product pipeline.
On the charts, MDT is still climbing steadily toward pre-pandemic levels, up around 59% since March. Today's earlier pullback to $114 was caught by the 10-day moving average. Year-to-date, the equity is just above its year-to-date breakeven mark.
The majority of analysts are bullish on Medtronic stock, with 19 of the 21 in coverage at a "buy" or better rating. Furthermore, the 12-month consensus price target of $127.46 is an 11.4% premium to current levels.
That said, now could be a good time to speculate on MDT's next move with options. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 26% stands higher than just 13% of all other readings in its annual range, implying that options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.