Analyst Upgrades: Walt Disney, Take-Two, SouFun

Analysts are weighing in today on entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS), video game concern Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO), and real estate services provider SouFun Holdings Ltd (NYSE:SFUN). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on DIS, TTWO, and SFUN.

• DIS is up close to 4% in pre-market trading, after yesterday's fiscal first-quarter earnings beat was met with a round of bullish analyst attention. In short, no fewer than nine brokerage firms raised their price targets on the stock, with BMO and Stifel both setting their targets at $115 while offering up the equivalent of "buy" ratings. With yesterday's close at $94.10, DIS has now added over 32% year-over-year, so it's no wonder analysts have such a positive outlook. In fact, 12 of the covering brokerage firms rate the stock a "buy" or better, with the remaining nine deeming it a "hold," with zero "sells" to be found. Also, there may be some money still on the sideline; nearly 41 million Walt Disney Co shares are sold short, representing close to six sessions' worth of pent-up buying power, at typical daily trading levels.


• After yesterday topping analysts' quarterly estimates and raising its outlook for 2015, TTWO saw no fewer than nine brokerage firms increase their price targets. The highest mark came from MKM Partners, which set its expected price at $40, while Brean Capital and Stifel both bumped their price targets to $35 -- with all three brokerage firms deeming the shares a "buy." Elsewhere, calls have been the options of choice among Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.'s short-term speculators. The equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.37 is lower than 92% of all similar readings from the past year, meaning options traders are more call-skewed than normal, among options expiring in the next three months. On the charts, TTWO has added 48.2% since its mid-October low of $20.13 to close yesterday at $29.84, and hit a fresh record high of $30.80 last week.


• SFUN is up 5.2% before the bell, as J.P. Morgan Securities raised the stock's rating to "overweight" from "neutral," but also cut its price target by $0.50 to $8.50. Since the start of the year, the security is off 13.7%, closing yesterday at $6.38 -- yet options traders continue to buy calls. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), SouFun Holdings Ltd's 10-day call/put volume ratio comes in at 23.49, higher than 84% of all similar readings in the past 52 weeks. Of course, short interest rose nearly 36% during the two most recent reporting periods, so a portion of these bullish bets may have been initiated by short sellers seeking a pre-earnings hedge -- with SFUN slated to report next Tuesday morning.