Analyst Upgrades: GrubHub, Groupon, Corning Inc

Analysts are weighing in today on food delivery firm GrubHub Inc (NYSE:GRUB), online coupon concern Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN), and Gorilla Glass creator Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on GRUB, GRPN, and GLW.

• Cowen mirrored Barrington Research's upbeat outlook, and initiated coverage on GRUB with an "outperform" rating and $50 price target -- representing expected upside of 36.3% to the stock's current perch at $36.69. Since hitting their most recent low of $30.91 on Dec. 12, shares of GrubHub Inc have rallied nearly 19%. Against this backdrop, option traders have shown a preference for long calls over puts of late. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), for example, 12.24 calls have been bought to open for each put over the past 20 sessions.


• Evercore ISI raised its outlook on GRPN to "hold" and upped its price target to $8 from $6.50 -- echoing yesterday's forecast from Credit Suisse. Heading into today's session, the stock had shed more than one-third of its value on a year-over-year basis, yet options traders have been initiating long calls over puts at an annual-high clip in recent weeks. At the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, specifically, Groupon Inc's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 18.79 ranks higher than all other readings taken in the past year. With 18.7% of the stock's float sold short, though, some of this recent call buying may have been a result of short sellers hedging against any unexpected upside. Despite this morning's price-target hike, the stock is down 1.2% to trade at $7.29.


• GLW received price-target hikes from UBS (to $23) and J.P. Morgan Securities (to $26), with the latter also raising its rating to "overweight" from "neutral." As such, the stock has jumped 0.5%, bringing its year-over-year advance to an impressive 26%. Should the shares extend this momentum, another round of bullish brokerage notes could be on the horizon. Of the 14 analysts covering the shares, 10 maintain a "hold" or "sell" suggestion (compared to four "strong buys"), while the average 12-month price target of $22.24 stands at a discount to Corning Incorporated's current perch at $23.34.