Barclays see fresh highs for Weibo, despite Chinese government crackdown
Analysts are weighing in on FAANG stock Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Chinese social media stock Weibo Corp (ADR) (NASDAQ:WB), as well as digital advertising issue Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:TTD). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on shares of AAPL, WB, and TTD, two of which are trading at record highs.
Analyst Love Toward Apple Stock Remains Unchanged
AAPL is up 1% to trade at $156.84, after Longbow Research reiterated a "buy" rating and a $173 price target on the iPhone parent today. AAPL stock is coming off a
record high of $161.83 on Tuesday, riding the bull gap from its
strong earnings last week. The shares have added 45% year-over-year.
In the options pits, traders continue to prefer calls over puts. Looking at the numbers, AAPL has a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 2.34 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which is higher than 83% of readings from the past year -- pointing toward unusually high levels of call buying relative to puts.
Barclays Eyes New Highs for WB, Despite Government Probe
WB is down 1.3% to trade at $81.14, amid reports the social media stock is under investigation by the
Chinese government for failing to comply with cybersecurity laws. Nevertheless, Barclays raised its price target today to $100 from $85, with the brokerage firm looking for WB stock to rally into uncharted territory. Weibo shares have roughly doubled year-to-date, and are fresh off a
record high of $88.88 on Tuesday.
Despite short interest decreasing by 2% during the last reporting period, there are still a great deal of short sellers sniffing around Weibo. Nearly 25% of the stock's total available float is sold short. This accumulation represents more than five times Weibo's average daily trading volume.
Earnings Beat Sends Trade Desk Stock Higher
Trade Desk stock is up 5.8% to trade at $52.98, after the online services firm reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded analysts' forecasts. As a result, Raymond James and Jefferies both raised their price targets to $60 (from $53 and $57, respectively), while RBC upped its target to $65.
It's been a stellar year for TTD, which has added 91% year-to-date and set a record high of $57.87 on July 27. The stock was rattled amid yesterday's
widespread selling, but the pullback was neatly contained by its 80-day moving average. As Trade Desk approaches its one-year anniversary of going public in September, analysts remain uniformly bullish. All six of the brokerages covering TTD stock rate it a "buy" or better.