Goldman Sachs analyst Alexander Blostein upgraded Cboe Global Markets to the Conviction Buy List from Neutral with a $120 price target citing material share underperformance in 2018 versus peers. Blostein said VIX options/futures volumes are now within a range that will be less of a drag and investor's expectations have been reset. The analyst sees SPX options as a source of upside due to share gains, increased market volatility, growth for the first time in years in both weekly and monthly contracts, and cyclically higher vol which creates opportunities for pricing increases.

BofA raised the firm's price target on Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) to $204 from $200 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm is making minor adjustments to earnings estimates to embed company disclosures released after BofA's Q1 Exchange earnings preview from earlier this month, which results in small upward earnings revisions for Cboe and Tradeweb Markets (TW), the analyst tells investors.