Citizens JMP expected more upside for PENN
Shares of casino name PENN Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PENN) are enjoying a 9% pop this morning, trading at $19.20, the stock's highest level since early March. Driving today's price action is an upgrade by Citizens JMP from "market perform" to "outperform," with a price target of $24. The firm cited a potential turning point in the equity.
Today's bull note marks its second of the week, after the stock received a boost on Monday from JPMorgan Securities. Longer term, PENN has been recovering from its early-April bottom of $13.25 and is now facing off with its year-over-year breakeven level.
Heading into today, analysts are evenly split, with 50% of the 18 in coverage sporting a "hold" or worse rating. Should this week mark the start of a larger round of bull notes, it could push the shares even higher.
It's worth noting short interest rose 5.6% over the past two reporting periods and now accounts for 13.4% of the stock's total available float. At PENN's average pace of trading it would take shorts five days to buy back their bearish bets.
Lastly, options are looking affordable. This is per PENN Entertainment stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 44%, which ranks in the 3rd percentile of its annual range, meaning options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations.