Analyst Upgrades: Bank of America, Intel, Netflix

Analysts are weighing in today on financial firm Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), chipmaker Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), and streaming giant Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on BAC, INTC, and NFLX.

• Ahead of BAC's early morning turn in the earnings confessional tomorrow, HSBC upped its price target on the shares to $14.50 from $13.70, while maintaining its "underweight" rating. Technically speaking, BAC has shed 10% year-to-date to trade at $16.07, and this negative price action is continuing today, with the stock down 2.4%. Should the security extend this decline, an unwinding of optimism in the options pits could exacerbate the selling pressure. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), for example, Bank of America Corp's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 5.01 ranks just 3 percentage points from an annual bullish peak.


• INTC has been a standout on the charts over the past 12 months, adding 38% to trade at $36.71. Jefferies thinks there's more room to run, and boosted its price target by $5 to $50 -- territory not charted by INTC since September 2000. The stock has been making a series of higher highs of late, though, and hit a fresh 13-year peak of $37.90 in early December. In light of this technical tenacity, the door is wide for another round of bullish brokerage attention. Currently, 14 out of 31 analysts maintain a "hold" or "strong sell" suggestion, while the average 12-month price target of $36.10 stands at a discount to present trading levels. Intel Corporation will also unveil its fourth-quarter results tomorrow, after the close.


• Stifel upped its outlook for NFLX to "buy" from "hold," and as a result, the shares are bucking the broad-market trend lower. At last check, NFLX was up 1% at $326.32, paring its year-to-date deficit to 4.7%. On the sentiment front, option bulls have been active, as evidenced by NFLX's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 1.20, which ranks higher than 89% of similar readings taken in the past year. With a healthy 8.6% of Netflix, Inc.'s float sold short, though, a portion of this call buying may have been at the hands of short sellers hedging against any unexpected upside.