Analyst Upgrades: Universal Health Services, Sigma Designs

Analysts are weighing in today on health care concern Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS), apparel manufacturer Oxford Industries Inc (NYSE:OXM), and smart home focus Sigma Designs Inc (NASDAQ:SIGM). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on UHS, OXM, and SIGM.

• UHS has been a force on the charts during the past 12 months, adding 36.5% year-over-year to settle at $127.44 yesterday. This hasn't been enough to excite Wedbush, apparently, as the brokerage firm initiated coverage on the security with a "neutral" rating. Option traders also seem hesitant to get behind the stock. Universal Health Services, Inc.'s 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio comes in at 1.66 -- only 20 percentage points from an annual bearish extreme.


• OXM is up 11% in electronic trading, after the company's strong first-quarter numbers and upwardly revised guidance were met with a round of bullish analyst attention. For instance, KeyBanc and Wunderlich each boosted their price targets to $100, while SunTrust Robinson set its mark at $95. All of these price targets represent all-time-high territory for Oxford Industries Inc, which closed at $81.01 yesterday. The shares have already picked up nearly 47% in 2015, outpacing the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 44 percentage points in the past three months. Analysts have high hopes, too. All three brokerage firms covering OXM say it's a "strong buy."


• After the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings last night, analysts are showing their approval of SIGM. Craig-Hallum raised its price target to $12 from $11, and Needham bumped its target to $13 from $10. Since November, the stock has been riding its 10-week moving average higher, yesterday touching a four-year high of $9.05, before settling at $8.94. With this technical success, it's not a surprise that bears are staying away from Sigma Designs Inc. During the past 20 sessions at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, not a single put has been bought to open. At last check, SIGM was pointed 9.6% higher ahead of the open.