Analyst Upgrades: Johnson & Johnson, Transocean LTD, and Tesla Motors Inc

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), and Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Josh Selway

Mar 14, 2016 at 9:57 AM

Analysts are weighing in on blue chip Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), offshore driller Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), and electric car producer Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on JNJ, RIG, and TSLA.

JNJ is up 0.2% at $107.85, following an upgrade to "neutral" from "sell" at Goldman Sachs, which also raised its price target to $112 from $102 and removed the stock from its "Americas Sell" list. Johnson & Johnson has been hot since hitting a year-to-date low of $94.28 on Jan. 21, picking up 14.4%. The stock could move higher if option bears throw in the towel next. JNJ's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands at 2.76 -- just 4 percentage points from an annual high.

RIG is down 4% at $10.81, even after Seaport Global Securities raised its price target to $10 from $7. Though the stock's month-to-date gain is roughly 25%, short sellers have been on the prowl -- and should be pleased with today's price action. Specifically, over 38% of Transocean LTD's float is sold short. At average daily volumes, it'd take these bears almost nine sessions to buy back their bets.

TSLA has picked up 2.4% this morning at $212.48, following an upgrade to "outperform" from "neutral" at Baird -- which likewise lifted its price target to $300 from $230, representing all-time-high territory. The shares have beat out the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by almost 27 percentage points over the past 20 sessions -- despite some negative developments -- and more gains could be forthcoming if additional bullish analyst notes come down the pike. Specifically, 10 of the 14 brokerage firms that cover Tesla Motors Inc say it's a "hold" or worse.

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