J.P. Morgan Securities upgraded WBA to "overweight" from "neutral"
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) stock is up 3.7% to trade at $22.05 at last check, after a J.P. Morgan Securities upgraded to "overweight" from "neutral," and hiked its price target to $30 form $27. The analyst in question cited the company's improving cash flow and is entering a "new era" after the appointment of Tim Wentworth as CEO, adding its expects a "cleaner year ahead."
Mizuho took a different route, slashing its price objective to $23 from $25. The brokerage bunch is bearish on WBA, with 12 of the 14 firms in coverage calling it a "hold" or worse coming into today.
While calls outpace puts on an absolute basis, Walgreens Boots Alliance stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands higher than 86% of annual readings. This means puts have been getting picked up at a quicker-than-usual clip lately.
What's more, the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at a high 98 out of 100. This means WBA exceeded option traders' volatility expectations during the past 12 months.
The shares are today bouncing off their Oct. 20, record low of $20.48. Overhead pressure at the 20-day moving average remains, after coming into place last week. So far this year, WBA has shed over 41%.