The analyst upgraded Sofi Technologies stock to "overweight"
The shares of SoFi Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SOFI) were last seen up 4% at $7.02 after the fintech company received an upgrade from Piper Sandler to "overweight" from "neutral," though the firm also came in with a price-target cut to $10 from $12. Piper Sandler said sped up deposit growth could help the equity, adding the approaching end to the student loan moratorium and a jump in financial services revenue could also create tailwinds.
Piper Sandler joins a pretty optimistic brokerage bunch. Heading into today, seven of the 11 in coverage called SOFI a "strong buy," without a single "sell" to be seen. Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $11.27 is a 57.2% premium to Friday's close.
SOFI is coming off its second-straight week of gains, and has already added 10.3% in May. However, it's still at a 57.3% deficit for the year, as it attempts to distance itself from its May 10 record low of $4.82. On the other hand, today's pop could help the stock find its footing at the 30-day moving average -- a trendline its struggled with since November 2021.
In response to the bull note, SoFi Technologies stock's options pits are bustling with activity. So far, 55,000 calls and 22,000 puts have been exchanged, which is double the intraday average. The most popular contract is the May 7.50 put, followed by the 8 call in the same monthly series, with positions being bought to open at both.
The stock is heavily shorted right now, with short interest rising 11.5% in the last two reporting periods to make up 21.7% of the stock's available float, or two-and-a-half days' worth of pent-up buying power. Should some of these shorts start to jump ship, a short squeeze could add additional support on the charts.