MKM Partners upgrades Yelp (YELP, $29.42) to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $40 based on a rebound in sales productivity. The firm believes improved sales execution should act as a tailwind, driving continued upside momentum on the top line.

Activist investor Elliott Associates raises its LifeLock (LOCK, $15.06) stake to 9.9% from 8.8%. 

For more on LifeLock, see TechStock Radar—June 16, 2016.

RBC Capital remains bullish on Western Digital (WDC, $43.50), saying strengthening NAND demand and an expanding addressable market for hard disk drives will help offset foreign currency headwinds (mainly the recent appreciation of the yen). The firm maintains its price target of $56.

Goldman Sachs downgrades Mobileye (MBLY, $39.79) to ‘Neutral’ and reduces its price target to $40 from $45, citing valuation following the sharp rally off of the February low and modestly lowered estimates.

Shares of Oracle (ORCL, $38.40) are retesting the 200-day moving average at $38.07, which coincides with recent support at the June low of $38.08. Today’s early low was $38.18.

BofA/Merrill downgrades NXP Semiconductors (NXPI, $74.29) to ‘Neutral’ and lowers its price target to $90 from $100, saying Brexit could pressure top-line growth because of the company’s heavy exposure to the auto and industrial/infrastructure segments.

Priceline (PCLN, $1,232) shares, down 11.3% on Friday, were “undeservedly punished” in a “knee-jerk reaction” to the Brexit vote, says Jefferies. 

The company has the highest exposure to Europe among online travel agencies, but its exposure to the British Pound is minimal, according to the firm. Jefferies believes the sell-off sets up a compelling entry point, maintaining its price target of $1,660.

Shares of Expedia (EXPE, $103.46) this morning are down 5.8% following the Brexit vote. The fear is Europe’s business travel will be negatively impacted. But Piper Jaffray points out that the actual exit process will take at least two years, with the slow change mitigating the effects on consumer sentiment, which the firm believes is the most important factor in travel-industry health.

Shares of ServiceNow (NOW, $75.16) have been finding support at the 200-day moving average of $72.12. The 50-day moving average is advancing from $70.88. There is short-term resistance in the $77.25 to $77.75 range.

Needham raises its Yelp (YELP, $29.21) price target to $34 from $28, saying management’s increased focus on sales account performance and national advertisers is not reflected across Wall Street estimates. The firm believes Yelp is moving toward performance marketing and a more transactional business, which should enhance shareholder value over time.

Mizuho raises its GrubHub (GRUB, $29.84) price target to $33 from $28 based on a modestly improving competitive environment in the online food ordering/delivery segment and the recently closed acquisition of LAbite.

Barclays upgrades Priceline (PCLN, $1,343) to ‘Overweight’ with a price target of $1,500 (up from $1,300), saying lower-than-expected Q2 guidance is a temporary setback that has created a buying opportunity. The firm looks for margins to improve as Priceline shifts ad spend to higher ROI channels.

At last week’s low of $112.56, Facebook (FB, $114.38) shares had fallen 7% from the all-time high of $121.08 reached in May. The stock remains below its 50-day moving average of $115.91. There’s minor resistance at $115.44. The 200-day moving average continues to trend upward from $106.25.

Imperva (IMPV, $45.12) stock today is up 11.5% in heavy trading following word of the Elliott Associates investment. The earnings-related gap on the price chart from early May has been filled. Now back above the 50-day moving average of $40.70, the shares are trying to breach the downtrend line from the April high. There’s short-term resistance at $47.55 and $49.50.

Imperva is a holding in the Tech-Stock Prospector Small-Cap Portfolio. In the June 2016 issue (TSP #172), we wrote about Imperva as a potential acquisition target. 

Piper Jaffray sees a favorable risk/reward balance for Priceline (PCLN, $1,341) shares going into Q2 results. The firm believes the CEO change at Priceline in late April caused the issuance of overly conservative Q2 guidance. Piper Jaffray maintains its price target of $1,500.

Nomura lowers its Netflix (NFLX, $94.12) price target to $115 from $125 because it expects difficult international comps until Q1’17. The firm warns that Wall Street may be underestimating the impact of international launch comparisons (Japan in Q3’15 and Southern Europe in Q4’15) through 2H’16.

Atlantic Equities upgrades Expedia (EXPE, $108.75) to ‘Overweight’ with a price target of $130, saying it expects material earnings growth from the company’s non-core online travel assets—HomeAway, Orbitz and Trivago. 

Deutsche Bank upgrades Yelp (YELP, $26.92) to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $33 (up from $26) based on stabilized sales force productivity, improvements in ad units and more confidence in management. The firm believes Yelp is likely to exceed 2016 guidance and consensus estimates.

RBC Capital lowers its Apple (AAPL, $97.55) price target to $115 from $120 because of reduced iPhone sales estimates. The firm sees longer replacement cycles, increased conservatism about the iPhone 7 and an unfavorable mix shift toward the SE.

A stock has been removed from the TSP Small-Cap Portfolio. Tech-Stock Prospector subscribers should see today’s Action Alert. Total Return: +56.2%.

Deutsche Bank downgrades Check Point Software (CHKP, $81.72) to ‘Hold’ and reduces its price target to $90 from $95 because of weakening demand trends. The firm believes Check Point will be negatively affected by a slowdown in spending growth across enterprise security.

Canaccord raises its NVIDIA (NVDA, $47.36) price target to $55 from $45 based on recent strong growth in the enterprise and automotive segments. The firm believes NVIDIA’s transformation into a diverse visual-computing company is complete. Top-line growth is now being driven by gaming, enterprise, HPC/cloud and automotive. 

FireEye (FEYE, $16.05) stock today closed up 4% on heavy volume following a Bloomberg report that the company earlier this year turned down at least two potential buyers (including Symantec) because the bids came in below the company’s requirement of at least $30 a share.

With short-term resistance at $40.30 taken out this morning, Imperva (IMPV, $40.50) shares could be headed for a test of the downwardly sloping 50-day moving average of $41.33.

Goldman Sachs downgrades Cisco Systems (CSCO, $28.96) to ‘Neutral’ and lowers its price target to $32 from $35 because it expects earnings growth to decelerate through fiscal 2018 (July) based on moderating server share gains and a slowdown in buybacks.

William Blair is positive on HubSpot (HUBS, $48.22), saying the provider of cloud-based inbound marketing software is capable of sustained 30%+ revenue growth over the next few years. The 2016 consensus revenue estimate of $258.7 million represents growth of 42.2%.

After rallying from the early-May low of $73.17, shares of Salesforce (CRM, $80.96) have come off the all-time high of $84.48 reached on May 26. If downside momentum were to pick up, the stock could test the 50-day moving average at $78.23. The 200-day moving average stands at $74.37.

NXP Semiconductors (NXPI, $86.76) is selling its Standard Products (SP) unit for $2.75 billion to an investment consortium. The SP business—focused on discrete, logic and PowerMOS chips—had 2015 revenue of $1.24 billion. The deal, expected to close in Q1 2017, will leave NXP Semi more focused on its high-performance mixed signal business.

Pacific Crest believes increased adoption of Apple Pay by merchants could present mid-term risk for PayPal (PYPL, $36.54). 

The firm estimates Apple Pay could serve about 20% of U.S. e-commerce by 2018 via the addition of more merchants (particularly larger retailers) and active users.

Jefferies lifts its NVIDIA (NVDA, $47.56) price target to $56 from $45, saying demand for deep-learning GPUs could outpace VR demand. The firm now has higher conviction with respect to its three-year EPS bull case of $3.50.  

As a reference point, the fiscal 2018 (Jan.) consensus EPS estimate is $1.59, with the Street-high estimate at $1.92.

For more on NVIDIA, see the April 2016 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #170).

A rebound off of the May low of $85.74 for Netflix (NFLX, $93.75) shares met resistance just above the 200-day moving average of $103.69. 

The stock has now come down from the May 26 high of $104, taking out the 50-day moving average at $97.31. There’s short-term support at $93.25 (a previous resistance level).

Brean Capital raises its Varonis Systems (VRNS, $25.99) price target to $35 from $25 to reflect positive partner checks indicating the company continues to benefit from a high level of interest in insider threat prevention solutions. The firm sees Varonis experiencing a more predictable sales cycle, particularly as buyers become more educated regarding the technology.

RBC Capital starts HubSpot (HUBS, $49.47) at ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $62 based on continued share gains in cloud-based marketing and an expanded product portfolio driving higher ARPU.

Akamai Technologies (AKAM, $55.33) is approaching the 200-day moving average, which has started to stabilize at $57.27 since the stock’s rebound from the May low of $48.88. The 50-day moving average is trending sideways from $52.33.

A stock has been removed from the TSP Vulture Portfolio. Tech-Stock Prospector subscribers should see today’s Action Alert.

RBC Capital upgrades LinkedIn (LNKD, $133.84) to ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $160 based on valuation and the company’s growth potential in several large addressable markets—including recruitment and advertising.

Alphabet (GOOGL, $742.93) shares finished the session just above the 50-day moving average of $742.20 after finding support on Monday just above the 200-day moving average of $726.66. 

Following a series of higher lows since late April, a close above short-term resistance at $753.48 would signal an upside breakout.

MKM Partners lifts its F5 Networks (FFIV, $119.49) price target to $118 from $106, saying it sees a 50% chance of an acquisition (by a strategic buyer or private equity). If a deal were to occur, the firm pegs F5’s value at $130 a share.

Shares of ServiceNow (NOW, $77.33) have pushed through the April high of $76.84. The RSI is up to 74.3. The 50-day moving average is rising from $68.59, approaching the 200-day moving average at $71.97. There’s resistance at $78.19 and $81.79 (both from January).

Shares of Zendesk (ZEN, $26.90) continue to show strong upside momentum, with the RSI up to 76.9. The stock, working on its sixth positive session in a row, is approaching the 52-week high at $27.54.

Mizuho upgrades Western Digital (WDC, $48.02) to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $53, saying a seasonally stronger 2H in NAND and modest HDD rebound could be tailwinds over the next two quarters.

Shares of security solutions vendor Proofpoint (PFPT, $61.97) are up 9% this week. The stock is back above its 200-day moving average of $58.20. The RSI is up to 71.7. There is resistance at the $62 level from January.

Citi remains upbeat on GrubHub (GRUB, $27.79), saying the valuation is attractive given the company’s long-term growth outlook and competitive position. The firm believes the market opportunity in online food ordering remains large and under-penetrated. Citi reiterates its price target of $30.

UBS lifts its Broadcom Ltd (AVGO, $154.91) price target to $205 from $190, citing raised guidance and solid execution against synergy targets related to the Avago deal.

Roth Capital lifts its Salesforce (CRM, $82.91) price target to $103 from $93 following the Demandware (DWRE) deal news, saying the highly strategic transaction adds a large new addressable market.

Goldman Sachs lowers its Apple (AAPL, $98.46) price target to $124 from $136 and trims its EPS estimates based on reduced growth expectations for the smartphone industry. The firm also expects Apple’s ASPs to come under pressure because of a greater shift in sales to emerging markets from developed ones.

Varonis Systems (VRNS, $24.96) shares this morning hit a 52-week high of $25.04, rebounding sharply from the February low of $13.25. The next significant resistance stands at $29.93 from May 2015.

Piper Jaffray starts HubSpot (HUBS, $49.89), a provider of cloud-based marketing automation solutions, at ‘Overweight’ with a price target of $60. The firm cites a large addressable market, accelerating growth profile, new product introductions and an attractive relative valuation.