Analysts are weighing in on farming machinery concern Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), healthcare stock Quest Diagnostics Inc (NYSE:DGX), and oil shipping expert Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO). Here's what's moving shares of DE, DGX, and FRO.
Deutsche Bank this morning upgraded Deere stock to "buy" from "hold," and raised its price target to $167 from $149. The move comes after the company on Wednesday hit record highs after earnings, with the shares settling at $145.25. Fresh highs could be in store again, since DE is up 0.5% before the open.
The equity sports a one-year advance of roughly 58%, but analysts have remained stubbornly bearish. For instance, nine of the 14 brokerage firms covering Deer & Company have "hold" or "strong sell" ratings as of Wednesday's close, so additional upgrades could come through and lift DE shares.
Jefferies this morning lowered its price target on Quest Diagnostics stock to $98, though this is still a premium to the shares' Wednesday close of $92.52. DGX has mostly been trading sideways since its late-September bear gap, but it remains almost 7% higher on a year-over-year basis. For what it's worth, options traders are seemingly remaining bullish. That's because Quest has a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 12.76 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), ranking in the 79th annual percentile. This means call buying has been unusually popular in recent weeks, though volume on an absolute basis has been muted.
Frontline stock is pacing for a 4.9% drop at the open, after Morgan Stanley dropped its price target to $5 from $5.50, saying it expects crude tankers to struggle in the short term. FRO shares have underperformed over the past year, dropping 19.5% in 2017 to trade at $5.72. Moreover, a recent breakout attempt failed near the 50-week moving average. Plenty of traders are expecting more downside, too, since short interest represents 6.7% of the stock's float. Going by average daily volumes, it'd take these shorts almost 14 days to cover their positions.