Analyst Upgrades: Alexion, Huntington Bancshares, ConocoPhillips

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN), Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (HBAN), and ConocoPhillips (COP)

Jul 11, 2016 at 10:54 AM

Analysts are weighing in on biotech issue Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN), financial concern Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN), and oil-and-gas stock ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on ALXN, HBAN, and COP.

ALXN is up 0.2% at $124.68, after Credit Suisse raised its rating on the stock to "outperform" from "neutral," while simultaneously cutting its price target to $165 from $186. The shares have shed more than one-third of their value year-to-date, but short interest on Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. still fell by 13.6% during the two most recent reporting periods, and now accounts for just over 2% of the stock's total float. It may be an opportune time for bears to hit the exits, as ALXN has been among the best performers in the second half of the year over the last decade.
HBAN is 1.5% higher at $8.85 thanks to an upgrade to "outperform" from "market perform" at FBR & Co. Still, a price-target cut to $10 from $12 at Baird may be preventing further gains. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is down 20% so far this year, and options traders seem to be anticipating more losses ahead. Specifically, the stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits in the 90th percentile of its annual range, at 2.71.

COP has added 1.1% to $42.76 -- even as oil prices flounder -- after J.P. Morgan Securities upgraded the stock to "neutral." Options traders have been targeting ConocoPhillips calls at an unusual rate in recent weeks, per the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.29 on the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, which sits higher than 87% of the past year's readings. And with the shares down over 6% in 2016, COP is still presenting an attractive buying opportunity for short-term traders, with a Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 35% -- in just the 4th percentile of its annual range -- alongside a Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 96.

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