Analyst Upgrades: Apple, Intercept Pharma, ACADIA Pharma

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Apple Inc. (AAPL), Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (ICPT), and ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACAD)

Mar 30, 2016 at 9:25 AM

Analysts are weighing in on tech titan Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), as well as biotech stocks Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ICPT) and ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on AAPL, ICPT, and ACAD.

Cowen and Company upgraded AAPL to "outperform" from "market perform" and lifted its price target to $135 from $125 -- a 25% premium over Tuesday's close of 107.68, and in record-high territory, lifting the shares 1.2% ahead of the open. Apple Inc. has been in the spotlight this week since the FBI cancelled its hearing against the company and reported it was able to crack the iPhone in question, but there is still no word on whether AAPL will be informed of how its security measures were breached. The company also announced overnight that it will partner with the MLB to put an iPad in every team's dugout.

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on ICPT with an "outperform" rating and lofty $200 price target, while Goldman Sachs started coverage with a more tepid "neutral" rating. The stock is 2.2% higher in electronic trading, after settling at $124.26 on Tuesday. The shares have been bouncing between $115 and $130 since mid-February, and it looks like their overhead 80-day moving average could now be acting as resistance. If the stock can break out higher today, some bearish option traders may get nervous. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 3.09 -- at the peak of its annual range.

ACAD is set to pop 21.4% at the open, as Tuesday's upbeat drug news was met with a price-target hike to $44 from $39 at Piper Jaffray. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. was halted at $23.81 for the entire session on Tuesday while an Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel reviewed its Parkinson's disease psychosis (PDP) drug, Nuplazid. The encouraging outcome should have the stock shaking off a good portion of its 33% year-to-date loss today, especially if a short squeeze adds fuel to ACAD's fire. For example, it'd take short sellers more than eight sessions to cover their positions, at average daily volumes.

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