HIG Hit with Analyst Notes After Buyout Approach

Calls have been overwhelmingly popular in the options pits

Deputy Editor

Mar 19, 2021 at 9:52 AM

Hartford Financial Services Inc (NYSE:HIG) stock saw a sequence of analyst notes after yesterday's 18.7% surge, which followed a buyout approach from Chubb (CB). In the two largest adjustments, Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "neutral," with a price-target hike to $82 from $48; and MKM Partners downgraded to "neutral" from "buy," upping its price target to $70 from $65. Wells Fargo and Evercore ISI chimed in with price target hikes as well -- to $73 and $70, respectively.

At last check, Hartford Financial stock was down 0.6% to trade at $67.74. On the charts, yesterday's price action carried HIG to a 12-year high. Before that, the stock was on the rise since its early-November bull gap, with pullbacks caught by the 60-day moving average. Year-over-year, the equity is up 159.6%.

A short-term breather could already be in the cards for HIG, however. This is per its 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 84, which sits firmly in "overbought" territory.

Looking over at the options pits, sentiment has been overwhelmingly bullish. The security's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 7.78 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands higher than all other readings from the past year. This shows long calls being picked up at their fastest rate in the past 12 months.

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