Barclays upgraded HAL to "overweight" from "equal weight"
The shares of Halliburton Corporation (NYSE:HAL) are up 4.5% to trade at $20.43 at last check, after an upgrade from Barclays to "overweight" from "equal weight," with a price-target hike to $29. The firm upgraded the oil sector to positive, and sent out a series of bull notes within it, noting the industry is entering a strong multi-year period, and that now is the right time for investors to enter.
On the charts, HAL has pulled back since its March 8, annual high of $24.74, recently falling even lower after the $22 region kept a ceiling on the stock's gains for several weeks. However, the 140-day moving average caught shares at the $18 level, and today's pop has Halliburton stock continuing its path higher.
Coming into today, 16 of the 28 analysts in coverage carried a "buy" or better rating, while eight called HAL a tepid "hold," and four said "sell" or worse. Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $22.93 is a 12.2% premium to current levels.
Options traders are eyeing HAL as well. So far today, calls are running at nearly double what's typically seen at this point. More specifically, 9,529 calls have crossed the tape so far, compared to 3,659 puts. The most active option is the weekly 5/7 20.50-strike put, followed closely by the 20.50-strike call in the same series, with new positions being opened at both.