Fred Lowrance at Avondale Partners has raised his price target on shares of Gaylord Entertainment following the company's early reporting of strong first-quarter numbers. Lowrance now sees the stock (Ticker: GET) climbing to $43, up from $37. The Q1 numbers, he said Wednesday morning, have him "feeling comfortable anticipating continued solid RevPAR performance and robust out-of-room spending trends."

On top of that, the company's word that it spent $3 million exploring strategic options has Lowrance thinking Robert Rowling's TRT Holdings could be circling for a full takeover. Nomura Securities' Harry Curtis thinks the same and says Gaylord's private-equity takeout value should approach $40.