Stifel upgraded PLNT to "buy" and raised its price target to $120
Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE:PLNT) is in focus today after Stifel upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold," with a price-target hike to $120 from $82. The firm cited stabilizing new membership rates and a number of potential tailwinds that could push comparable sales into the mid- to high-single-digit range over the next several years.
Shares of the gym operator are up 1.4% before the bell, set to open just shy of their all-time high of $109.91. Coming into today, PLNT is up 59% year-over-year, though its year-to-date gain sits at a more modest 5.3%. Should premarket strength hold, the stock will notch its sixth-straight daily gain.
Short interest rose 27.6% in the past two weeks, with 6.66 million shares now sold short -- accounting for 8% of Planet Fitness stock's total available float. At the equity’s average pace of trading, it would take short sellers more than four days to buy back their bearish bets.
An unwinding of pessimism in the options pits could provide additional tailwinds. The equity’s Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) stands at 0.83, which ranks in the 81st percentile of its annual range, indicating heavier-than-usual put exposure among short-term traders.