Analysts revised their ratings and price targets on Facebook Inc (FB), Transocean LTD (RIG), and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC)
Analysts are weighing in on social media giant Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), offshore drilling concern Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), and bank stock Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on FB, RIG, and WFC.
- FB is up 0.8% to $118.12 after a price-target hike to $166 from $157 -- well into record-high territory -- at Pivotal Research. The stock has been rallying since a quick late-June pullback to its 200-day moving average -- a trendline that has been buoying the shares higher for nearly three years. Still, an unwinding of bearish sentiment in the options pits could help send Facebook Inc back toward its May all-time high. Specifically, FB's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.75 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) is just 4 percentage points from an annual high.
- A downgrade to "sell" from "neutral" at Seaport Global Securities has RIG 2.2% lower at $11.87, even after Susquehanna increased its price target on the stock to $10 from $8. Transocean LTD has outperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 28 percentage points over the last three months, but the stock's rallies have been running into trouble at the $13 level since the beginning of the year. Overall, RIG has been surrounded by pessimism, with 15 out of 17 analysts handing out a "hold" rating or worse. Plus, short interest on the equity represents 26.2% of its total available float, or over six sessions' worth of trading, at RIG's average daily pace.
- WFC is up 0.9% at $48.21, following the broad market higher, even as Goldman Sachs and Baird cut their price targets on the stock, to $56 and $50, respectively. The shares are down 15% year-over-year, however, and further bearish attention from the brokerage bunch could weigh on the shares, as 14 analysts rate WFC a "buy" or better. Options traders appear pessimistic ahead of Wells Fargo & Co's quarterly earnings report this Friday -- and with good reason. The stock has dropped in the session after earnings for seven of the past eight quarters.
For other stocks in analysts' crosshairs, read Analyst Upgrades: Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Huntington Bancshares Incorporated, and ConocoPhillips and Analyst Downgrades: Yahoo! Inc., Apple Inc., and Twitter Inc.