Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on the home workout staple with a "buy" rating
The shares of Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ:PTON) are down 2.9% at $43.18 at last check, despite Deutsche Bank initiating coverage on the home workout staple with a "buy" rating, and a $76 price target. The analyst in question noted that the company has plenty of upside potential in a "normalized," fully-reopened economic environment, and may regain momentum as hybrid work models extend to fitness.
The firm joins a split brokerage bunch. Of the 19 analysts covering PTON, 10 call it a "buy" or better, while the remaining nine say "hold" or worse. Meanwhile, the stock's 12-month consensus target price of $79.85 is a whopping 76.1% premium to current levels.
Short sellers are already running for the exits. Short interest fell roughly 24% in the last two reporting periods, but the 22 million shares sold short still make up a considerable 7.6% of PTON's available float.
Peloton stock has been on a downhill ride since its Jan. 14, all-time high of $171.09. A recent floor at the $42 level seems to be supporting the shares more recently, while the 20-day moving average is keeping a tight lid on gains. Year-to-date, PTON has shed 70.1%.
Options traders are bullish, however. This is per the stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.48 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.