Analyst desks were busy on Friday, with notable target price moves hitting IT services and tech infrastructure names.
EPAM Systems drew the sharpest attention. A new recommendation landed with a consensus target of $149.65 — down sharply from the prior $170.24. That's a 12% cut to the street view on the $5.5B IT outsourcer. Short sellers have already circled the name. Short interest stands at 15.6% of free float, a high reading for a mid-cap tech stock.
Going the other way, Akamai Technologies picked up a meaningful target upgrade. The consensus average target jumped to $143.76 from $114.24 — a 26% leap. Akamai's short interest sits at nearly 12% of free float. A rising target could squeeze those positions if the stock follows the street's new view.
In utilities, PPL Corporation received a formal upgrade. Its consensus shifted from one sell to a hold. The $27.7B utility also saw analysts hold their average target steady at $42.13.
Elsewhere, Targa Resources and NiSource both saw target price increases, continuing a run of positive sentiment across midstream energy and regulated utilities.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
