RES shares got a rare upgrade today
Oilfield services stock RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) is trading up 5.9% today at $12.35, thanks to an upgrade to "overweight" from "underweight" at Morgan Stanley. The brokerage firm also lifted its price target to $15 from $11, territory not seen since early November. The bull note is a rarity for RES shares, which right now have just two positive ratings among the analyst crowd, compared to 15 "holds" or worse.
Also uncommon is the options activity seen in today's trading. While volume clearly remains light on an absolute basis, calls are crossing at more than twice the daily average already, and most popular by far is the May 13 call. Data suggests buy-to-open activity is taking place here, meaning these options bulls are expecting RPC stock to topple $13 in the weeks ahead.
This trading action is noteworthy because the stock topped out right near $13 earlier, and this level acted as a floor for months in 2018, along with it being the site of an early December bear gap. On top of all this, the 200-day moving average sits right at this price point, as well. This trendline hasn't been topped on a closing basis in over a year.
