Analyst Bets Big on WSM Stock

Telsey doubled its price target on Williams-Sonoma

Home goods retailer Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) just got an upgrade from Telsey this morning to "outperform" from "market perform." The analyst also doubled its price target to $80 from $40. Meanwhile, the company's West Elm unit announced a partnership with REI Co-op for the launch of a co-curated collection of REI x West Elm lifestyle products. At last check, WSM is up 4.1% at $69.12.

Telsey's bull note is rare considering that, coming into today, just four of the 18 analysts in coverage considered WSM a "strong buy," compared to 11 calling it a "hold," and three saying "sell" or worse. Adding to this, the consensus 12-month price target of $56.89 is a 14.4% discount to last night's close.

The options pits have also been quite bearish. In the past 10 days, 2.61 puts were picked up for every call at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits higher than 80% of all other readings from the past year, suggesting a much healthier-than-usual appetite for long calls of late.

Though the equity staged an impressive bounceback off its mid-March, nine-year lows, with newly formed support at its 320-day moving average, WSM still sits at a 6% year-to-date deficit. The stock has been pushing up against the $70 level, which served as support during its February peak. For the quarter, however, Williams-Sonoma stock is up over 50%.