Will This Upgrade Help Symantec (SYMC) Stock Today?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Jefferies upgraded Symantec to "hold" from "underperform" on Monday. The analyst firm raised its price target for the antivirus software company to $21 from $20. Jefferies analysts also raised their 2015 EPS estimates for the company to $1.88 a share from $1.87, but lowered their 2016 EPS estimates to $1.85 a share from $2.02. Jefferies analysts said the upgrade is due to "a lack of negative catalysts" and potential optionality in different breakup scenarios following the company's Financial Analyst Day. "We maintain there is downside risk in the stock, while respecting the upside potential in a Veritas sale," the analysts wrote. "The greatest surprise coming out of the event was a healthier-than-expected outlook for Veritas, which is consistent with recent indicators from the field." ---------- Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates SYMANTEC CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of B+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate SYMANTEC CORP (SYMC) a BUY. This is driven by several positive factors, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, notable return on equity, reasonable valuation levels, good cash flow from operations and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.35, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Along with the favorable debt-to-equity ratio, the company maintains an adequate quick ratio of 1.12, which illustrates the ability to avoid short-term cash problems. The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Software industry and the overall market, SYMANTEC CORP's return on equity exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500. Net operating cash flow has slightly increased to $358.00 million or 8.81% when compared to the same quarter last year. The firm also exceeded the industry average cash flow growth rate of -7.16%. Compared to where it was a year ago today, the stock is now trading at a higher level, regardless of the company's weak earnings results. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year. You can view the full analysis from the report here: SYMC Ratings Report Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 25 Stocks for 2015

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