Credit Suisse upgraded Cinemark to "outperform"
The shares of Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) are up 2.4% at $22.16 this morning, following a bull note from Credit Suisse. The analyst upgraded CNK to "outperform" from "neutral" and lifted its price target to $25 from $16, calling it the "best positioned U.S. pure play theater operator as the box office recovery ramps up into 2022." Credit Suisse also praised Cinemark's competitive pricing and "superior experience." This upgrade comes just one day after both J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo lifted their price targets -- both to $24.
The stock has been chopping higher since its August pullback to the $14 level. The 40-day moving average has provided a solid leg of support since Cinemark stock's late-August bull gap, however, this rally seems to be stalling just below the $22.50 region. Year-to-date, CNK is up 24%.
There's plenty of room for a greater shift in analyst sentiment. Heading into today, five of the nine analysts in coverage considered CNK a "hold."
An unwinding of short interest could also put some wind in Cinemark stock's sails. Short interest climbed 7.4% in the last reporting period, and the 24.82 million shares sold short make up a hefty 23.4% of the stock's available float. Plus, it would take over six days to cover these bearish bets at the equity's average daily pace of trading.
Options traders have been much more optimistic. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), CNK sports a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 27.72, which stands higher than 95% of readings from the past 12 months. This implies long calls are being picked up at a much quicker-than-usual clip.