Analyst Update: Barracuda, Hercules Offshore, iDreamSky

Analysts are weighing in on security solutions expert Barracuda Networks Inc (NYSE:CUDA), oil-and-gas issue Hercules Offshore, Inc. (NASDAQ:HERO), and mobile game maker iDreamSky Technology Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ:DSKY). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on CUDA, HERO, and DSKY.

• Guggenheim chimed in on a number of IT issues today -- and at least one financial firm -- and for CUDA, this resulted in a fresh "buy" initiation and $45 price target. On the charts, the stock has been trying to make a comeback since taking a sharp bounce off its 160-day moving average on May 18, up 14.4% at $40.32. Option traders, meanwhile, have been buying to open puts over calls at a faster-than-usual clip in recent weeks. Specifically, Barracuda Networks Inc's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.40 sits in the 77th percentile of its annual range.


• HERO is popping today -- last seen 6.6% higher at $0.70 -- as a pre-OPEC rebound in oil overshadows a pair of negative analyst notes. Specifically, Cowen and Company cut its price target to $0.50 from $0.75, while Global Hunter Securities reduced its target price by a dime to $0.60. Today's positive price action is a rare occurrence for Hercules Offshore, Inc., which has surrendered nearly 85% of its value over the past 52 weeks. Not surprisingly, sentiment is tilted toward the skeptical side. For starters, one-fifth of the equity's float is sold short. Elsewhere, all eight analysts covering the shares maintain a "hold" or worse suggestion, while the average 12-month price target of $0.72 doesn't anticipate much upside from current trading levels.


• DSKY is failing to capitalize on a price-target hike to $14 from $12 at Piper Jaffray, with the shares 1.4% lower at $10.83. This downtrend is just more of the same for a stock that's shed 37% year-to-date, and more recently, encountered a stern layer of resistance at its 120-day moving average. In the options pits, speculators at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX have shown a preference for long calls over puts in recent weeks, and over the past 10 sessions, they have bought to open 4.12 calls for each put. Echoing this call-skewed trend is iDreamSky Technology Ltd's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.50, which indicates call open interest doubles put open interest among options slated to expire in three months or less.