Levi stock earned a bull note rom Guggenheim to $24 from $20
The shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) are looking to finish out the year on a sweet note, following a price-target hike from Guggenheim to $24 from $20. The new estimate is a 21% premium to last night's close, and represents levels not touched by LEVI since April 2019. At last check, LEVI is up 1.1% at $20.04.
Levi stock could be reversing its luck today. The equity has been cooling off from its Dec. 18, annual high of $21.83, and is just coming off of a three-day losing streak. It looks like support at the 30-day moving average is currently being tested, keeping LEVI at marginal gains for 2020, with a 4.6% lead.
A look at analyst sentiment indicates a generally sunny outlook. Coming into today, all six in coverage call LEVI a "buy" or better, while the 12-month consensus price target of $21.30 represents a 5.6% premium to current levels.
Short sellers, meanwhile, are building their positions, with short interest up 20.4% in the last two reporting periods. These bearish bets make up a solid 21.4% of the stock's available float, and would take nearly a week to cover at LEVI's average pace of daily trading. Should the stock continue to reverse course, an unwinding of pessimism could push the security even higher.
The tide is already shifting in the options pits. So far today, over 1,100 calls have crossed the tape, which is twice the average intraday amount. Most popular is the February 22 call, followed by the 23 call in the same series, with new positions currently being opened at both.