Analyst Upgrades: Expedia Inc, GoPro Inc, and Yahoo! Inc.

Analysts upwardly revised their ratings on EXPE, GPRO, and YHOO

Oct 31, 2014 at 9:04 AM

Analysts are weighing in today on travel website Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE), mobile camera concern GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO), and Internet media mogul Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on EXPE, GPRO, and YHOO.

Following a better-than-expected third-quarter earnings report, EXPE was met with a round of price-target hikes from no fewer than nine brokerage firms. Most ambitious thus far was Benchmark, which lifted its target to $97 from $94 and echoed a "buy" rating. As a result, the shares -- which are already up nearly 16% in 2014 to trade at $80.73 -- are 4% higher ahead of the bell. Should Expedia Inc sustain this upward momentum, it could result in a short-covering rally, as 10.6% of the stock's float is currently sold short.

GPRO has surged more than 15% ahead of the bell, after posting stronger-than-anticipated third-quarter results and current-quarter guidance. The analyst community also cheered these results, as J.P. Morgan Securities, Baird, and Wedbush raised their respective price targets on the equity, and the latter reiterated an "outperform" recommendation. On the charts, GoPro Inc has been volatile since its public debut in late June -- jumping as high as $98.47 earlier this month, but sagging in recent weeks to its current perch at $68.25. That said, if the shares can resume their previous uptrend, a capitulation among the remaining skeptics -- and/or additional bullish initiations -- on Wall Street could spell tailwinds. Specifically, eight out of 11 covering analysts rate GPRO a "hold" or "strong sell," compared to just three total "buy" recommendations.

Finally, J.P. Morgan Securities resumed coverage of YHOO with an "overweight" opinion and $55 price target. Technically speaking, the shares have posted a strong year-over-year performance, rallying 38.5% to settle at $45.63. Nevertheless, in recent weeks, options traders have placed downside bets over bullish at a faster-than-usual pace. Specifically, the stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.42 ranks in the 89th percentile of its annual range. A capitulation among these option bears could buoy Yahoo! Inc. going forward.

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