Analyst Upgrades: T-Mobile, Isis Pharma, PepsiCo

Analysts are weighing in today on wireless issue T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS), drugmaker ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIS), and beverage giant PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on TMUS, ISIS, and PEP.

• TMUS was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Goldman Sachs, which likewise bumped its price target to $37 from $27. Accordingly, the shares are nearly 2% higher out of the gate, adding to their 2015 outperformance -- specifically, T-Mobile US Inc has advanced roughly 10% since the start of the year to rest at $29.70. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), however, skepticism has been strong. The stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio across these exchanges is 14.51 -- or just 1 percentage point from an annual peak. It's possible some of these bearish bettors are TMUS shareholders hedging against unexpected downside.


• ISIS, which has rallied more than 44% year-over-year to trade at $69.16, saw its price target raised to $68 from $40 at Leerink, which reiterated its "market perform" assessment. Optimism has been fairly common on the outperforming shares. For one, two-thirds of covering analysts rate the stock a "buy" or "strong buy." For another, ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has racked up a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 4.98 on the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX. Not only does this ratio indicate that roughly five ISIS calls have been bought to open for each put over the last couple months, but it also ranks higher than four-fifths of similar readings taken in the last 12 months.


• Finally, Stifel boosted its price target on PEP by $1 to $108, and reaffirmed its "buy" rating. This isn't surprising, given the equity's 18.3% year-over-year gain to hover around $98.11. Accordingly, traders at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX have bought to open more than six PepsiCo, Inc. calls for every put during the last two weeks. The resultant 10-day call/put volume ratio of 6.10 sits in the 96th percentile of its annual range. In other news, PEP added William R. Johnson to its board late last week to appease activist investor Nelson Peltz.