Goldman Sachs upgraded LEN to "buy" from "neutral"
Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) is attracting some positive analyst attention this morning. More specifically, the homebuilding giant received an upgrade from Goldman Sachs to "buy' from "neutral." The firm cited the rollout of larger communities, which will support double-digit revenue growth for the company. At last check, LEN was up 3.3% to trade at $108.44.
The brokerage bunch was relatively split towards Lennar stock coming into today, with seven of the 13 in question carrying a "buy" or better rating, while six called LEN a tepid "hold." This means there is still plenty of room for upgrades going forward. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus target price of $122.64 is a 13.6% premium to the security's current perch.
The last time we checked in on Lennar stock, the company was gearing up for its third-quarter earnings report. Prior to today's pop, the equity had just pulled back to the $104 level from its Nov. 19, all-time high of $114.39. The $109 mark is still keeping gains in check, though, despite LEN's 49.3% year-over-yea lead.
The options pits are fiercely optimistic, with calls popular. This is per the security's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.01 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 95% of readings from the past 12 months. This suggests long calls have been getting picked up at a much faster-than-usual clip.