Analyst Upgrades: Stratasys, Milacron, Bristol-Myers Squibb

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings on Stratasys, Ltd. (SSYS), Milacron Holdings Corp (MCRN), and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY)

Aug 4, 2015 at 9:04 AM

Analysts are weighing in today on 3-D printing issue Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS), industrial concern Milacron Holdings Corp (NYSE:MCRN), and pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on SSYS, MCRN, and BMY.

Despite being down more than 65% year-to-date, SSYS was upgraded to "overweight" from "neutral" at J.P. Morgan Securities. As such, the stock -- which closed Monday at $28.95, after hitting a new three-year low of $28.06 -- is up nearly 3% in electronic trading. Short sellers have been pouncing on Stratasys, Ltd. amid its long-term downtrend, with short interest spiking 12% during the latest reporting period. At present, over 27% of the equity's float is sold short, which would take about 12 days to cover, at SSYS' typical daily volume.

A number of brokerage firms are weighing in on Wall Street rookie MCRN. Specifically, KeyBanc, Baird, and William Blair initiated coverage with the equivalent of a "buy" rating, while Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs started coverage with "neutral" assessments. Milacron Holdings Corp hasn't done particularly well since publicly debuting in late June. After initially consolidating in the $19-$20 neighborhood, the shares broke south last week and closed yesterday at $16.97. Looking ahead, MCRN will take its initial turn in the earnings confessional one week from this morning.

BMY saw its price target boosted to $78 from $75 at Credit Suisse. This upbeat outlook isn't shared by options traders. During the last two weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co has amassed a put/call volume ratio of 0.55, which ranks in the 78th percentile of its annual range. This makes sense, given the stock's recent technical troubles. Since hitting a 14-year high of $70.54 on July 20, the shares have retreated 7.4% to rest at $65.34. Longer term, however, BMY remains up 10.7% year-to-date, and perched atop its 32-week moving average, which could act as support.

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