Analyst Upgrades: NIKE, Honeywell, Pier 1 Imports

Analysts are weighing in today on athletic apparel maker Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), diversified tech firm Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON), and home furnishing specialist Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on NKE, HON, and PIR.

• The shares of NKE are pointed 5.4% higher in electronic trading -- and are headed for record-high, triple-digit territory -- after the firm released fiscal third-quarter earnings that topped the Street's estimates. In response, no fewer than 11 brokerage firms upwardly revised their price targets on Nike Inc. Drilling down, the most dramatic hikes came from J.P. Morgan Securities and Buckingham Research, with the former lifting its price target by $6 to $116 and the latter raising its price target by $16 to $122. Both firms reiterated the equivalent of "buy" ratings. On the charts, NKE has been a technical outperformer, with the shares up 24% year-over-year to close yesterday at $98.32. However, puts have been prominent in the options pits, as NKE's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 1.17 stands higher than 91% of all equivalent readings taken over the past year.


• Goldman Sachs added HON to "America's conviction buy" list, sending the shares up 1.4% in electronic trading. Looking back, Honeywell International Inc. has been in recovery mode, with the shares up 24.3% from their Oct. 15 annual low of $82.89 to close yesterday at $103.02. However, sentiment has been bearish in the options pits, as HON's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 0.98 sits in the 96th percentile of its annual range. Likewise, the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.34 stands higher than 97% of all other readings from the past year, suggesting short-term traders have rarely been more put-biased.


• PIR is over 5.1% higher in electronic trading, after Oppenheimer upgraded the equity to "outperform" from "market perform." The revision comes as Pier 1 Imports Inc is rebounding from its annual low of $11.38, touched in mid-February, with the shares up 11.2% so far in March. Calls have been popular in the options pits, as PIR's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 5.50 ranks higher than 83% of all equivalent readings taken over the past 12 months. Elsewhere, the brokerage bunch is lukewarm at best on the security, as 11 out of 13 covering analysts rate the stock a tepid "hold" or worse.