The firm upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "equal weight"
The shares of HanesBrands Inc (NYSE:HBI) are up 0.6% to trade at $18.22 at last check, after Wells Fargo upgraded the security to "overweight" from "equal weight," and raised its price target to $23 from $20. The analyst in question was impressed by the company's new leadership, as well as its overall direction, noting the brokerage firm it sees a clear path to potential growth.
On the charts, HBI has experienced some volatility on the charts over the past year. Still, the security is fresh off a May 10, three-year high of $22.81, while support at the 200-day moving average has captured its most recent pullback. Plus, HBI remains up 59.2% year-over-year.
Though shorts have been jumping ship in recent weeks, short interest still makes up 5.2% of the equity's available float. It would take over four days to buy back these bearish bets, at Hanesbrand stock's average pace of trading. Should of this pessimism unwind even further, shares could go higher still.
There is room for increased optimism amongst the brokerage bunch as well, which would create additional tailwinds for the equity. Coming into today, three of the seven analysts in coverage called HBI a tepid "hold" rating.