STX and TWLO could rally even move, should shorts continue covering
The major U.S. benchmarks are joining in the global stock rally, as a speech from Chinese President Xi Jinping eased trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. Among specific stocks shooting higher today are data storage specialist Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX), cloud firm Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO), and online retail platform Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) -- each of which received fresh "buy" ratings from the brokerage bunch.
Morgan Stanley Sees 20% Upside for STX Stock
Seagate Technology stock topped out at a three-year high of $61.31 earlier, and was last seen trading up 6.4% at $59.92. The tech shares are reacting to a bull note at Morgan Stanley, which upgraded STX to "overweight" from "equal weight," and boosted its price target by $21 from $72 -- representing expected upside of 20% to the stock's current perch.
Longer term, STX stock has doubled since its late-August lows near $30.60. And a recent pullback was quickly contained in the $56 region -- home to the equity's January highs, as well as its rising 40-day moving average.
Higher highs could be ahead, too, should short sellers continue to cover. Short interest turned lower in 2018, down 35% year-to-date, yet more than 10% of the stock's float remains dedicated to these bearish bets, or 6.2 times STX's average daily trading volume.
Twilio Stock Bounces from Familiar Support
Dougherty initiated coverage on Twilio with a "buy" rating and a $45 price target -- a level the cloud stock has not toppled since October 2016. The upbeat analyst attention has the equity trading 5.1% higher at $38.75.
Looking closer at the charts, TWLO shares pulled back after topping out at a 17-month high of $42.50 on March 27. However, a floor quickly emerged in the $37 region, near the equity's November 2016 closing high, as well as its 40-day moving average, which has served as support and resistance over the past year.
As such, part of today's upside could be a result of short sellers cashing in some winning bets. Despite falling more than 20% in the two most recent reporting periods, there are still 9.9 million TWLO shares sold short -- 14.9% of the stock's float, or 3.3 times the average one-day trading volume.
Etsy Stock Seems Overdue for Upgrades
ETSY stock has shot up 8.2% to trade at $29.85, and earlier hit a four-year high of $29.88, after Loop Capital started covering with a "buy" rating and $32 price target -- double the retailer's initial public offering (IPO) back in April 2015. The brokerage firm waxed optimistic on the freshman management team, and said it expects the equity's 2018 "momentum to continue."
Specifically, the shares have added 44.5% so far this year. Nevertheless, the majority of analysts that currently follow the retailer maintain a "hold" or "strong sell" rating, and the average 12-month price target of $26.70 represents a discount to ETSY's stock price. Should ETSY continue to outperform, additional bullish brokerage notes could create even bigger tailwinds.