WW has added 60% since May 31
The shares of WW International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WW) are up 5.9% to trade at $26.70 today -- one of the better stocks on the Nasdaq this morning -- after D.A. Davidson delivered an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral," while upping its price target to $32 from $24.50. Analyst Linda Weiser thinks the Oprah stock has moved off its low, noting encouraging subscriber trends and improving brand sentiment that could mitigate 2019 earnings risk.
Weight Watchers stock has now added 50% since its May 31 bottom at $16.71. Thanks to today, WW has now nearly filled its earnings-induced late-February bear gap, while also toppling its 160-day moving average for the first time since August. Year-to-date though, the shares are still down 32.5%.
If this is indeed a turning point for the stock, there's ample room aboard the bullish bandwagon among analysts. Of the 11 brokerages in coverage of WW, 10 rate it a "hold" or "sell," while its consensus 12-month price target of $26.06 is flat to current trading levels.
A continued exodus of short sellers could also keep the wind at the security's back. Short interest declined by almost 15% in the last two reporting periods to 9.12 million shares, the lowest since April. Still, this accounts for a healthy 15% of WW's total available float, and three times the average daily trading volume.