Analyst Upgrades: Archer Daniels Midland Company, HP Inc, and Shire PLC

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), HP Inc (HPQ), and Shire PLC (ADR) (SHPG)

May 26, 2016 at 9:21 AM

Analysts are weighing in on agricultural interest Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM), tech stock HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ), and biotech issue Shire PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:SHPG). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on ADM, HPQ, and SHPG.

An upgrade to "buy" from "neutral" at Citigroup, which also raised its price target to $50 from $42, has ADM pointed 1.2% higher ahead of the open, after finishing Wednesday at $42.48. The stock has been climbing this week, thanks to upbeat analyst attention, and looks to be on pace to close above its 50-week moving average for the first time since June. Short sellers may be glad they got out when they did, since short interest fell by 17.3% over the last two reporting periods, and now accounts for less than 2% of Archer Daniel Midland Company's total available float.

HPQ is 1% higher in electronic trading, following a price-target hike at J.P. Morgan, to $12.50 from $10. HP Inc last night reported disappointing fiscal second-quarter revenue, and the company lowered its full-year guidance. HPQ has shed nearly 20% year-over-year, as of its Wednesday close at $12.20, but the shares appear to have found a foothold at their 80-day moving average. Options traders, meanwhile, have been uncommonly pessimistic -- at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), HPQ's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 2.74 is higher than all comparable readings in the last 12 months.

Stifel began coverage on SHPG with a "buy" rating and lofty $230 price target -- a 20% premium over the stock's Wednesday close of $191.78. The shares are up 0.8% in pre-market trading following the news, though this is not much of a change for Shire PLC, where 91% of analysts already maintain a "buy" rating or better. But traders don't appear as convinced. Short interest currently represents about 10% of SHPG's total float, or nearly seven sessions' worth of trading, at the equity's average daily volume.

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