Evercore ISI hiked its price target on Chevron and Exxon Mobil
Evercore ISI hiked its price target on two big oil names today. Specifically, the firm dished out bull notes to Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) in the form of a price-target raise to $135 from $130, while also upping its price target on Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) to $75 from $67. Analysts were already mostly bullish on CVX, with 11 of the 16 in coverage calling it a "buy" or better, coming into today. However, the brokerage bunch isn't so sold on XOM, with 10 "hold" or worse ratings, compared to five "buy" recommendations.
Concerning Chevron stock's chart performance of late, the security bounced off long-term support at the 320-day moving average in mid-September, and quickly climbed to its highest close in nearly two years at $113.17 during yesterday's session. In fact, over the last month, CVX has managed to tack on nearly 18%.
Meanwhile, XOM has also enjoyed a decent month. The stock managed to break above pressure at the 80-day moving average in late September, and now boasts a 17% month-over-month lead. While the security will have to contend with the $64 level if it wants to recapture its June 25 annual high just north of here, the stock sports an impressive 89% year-over-year return.
The options pits for each have leaned bearish lately, meaning an unwinding of this pessimism could boost both securities higher. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Chevron stock sports a 50-day put/call ratio that ranks higher than 70% of readings from the past year, while Exxon Mobil stock's 50-day put/call volume ratio sits in the slightly more elevated 88th percentile of its 12-month range.