Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Pops on Upgrade

Deutsche Bank upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) to "buy" from "hold" this morning, and raised its price target to $50 from $41, after citing a meeting with management that left the firm confident in the blue-chip name's ability to provide healthcare services. In turn, WBA is up 3.7% to trade at $39.92 at last check. 

This denotes a shift in analyst sentiment, given the brokerage bunch was bearish on Walgreens Boots Alliance stock coming into today. Specifically, 13 analysts called WBA a tepid "hold," while two said "sell." Plus, the 12-month consensus target price of $39.93 is only a slim 3.7% premium to current levels.

Short-term options traders similarly pessimistic. This is per the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.98, which stands higher than 91% of readings from the last 12 months.

It's also worth noting the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 28% stands in the 14th percentile of its annual range, suggesting options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations right now. 

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock has charged up the charts since its Oct. 7, 10-year low of $30.39. The 20-day moving average has supported the shares for the past several weeks, and the equity could today conquer overhead pressure at the $39 level. Year-to-date, WBA remains down 26.2%.