As incredible as it may seem, 2021 is here and rolling. The holidays are over, and everybody has returned to Wall Street for what could be a very different year for investors, compared with the roller-coaster ride we took last year. Interest rates are expected to stay at generational lows, and with more stimulus headed out from Washington, D.C., that may help backstop struggling U.S. businesses and consumers.

In a new research report, Baird is out with its top picks for 2021 As the analysts unveil the highest conviction ideas, we continue to remind our readers that the markets are very extended and overbought now. While the analysts generally take the longer term view on a stock, the near term could be choppy.

We screened the top technology picks at Baird for 2021 and found five that look like outstanding ideas for growth stock investors with a somewhat higher risk tolerance level. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Autodesk

This has remained a favorite at Baird for years, and it still has solid upside to the firm’s price target. Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) is a design software and services company providing a range of solutions for customers in architectural, engineering, construction, manufacturing, geospatial mapping and digital media markets.

The company offers AutoCAD, a professional design, drafting, detailing and visualization software. AutoCAD Civil 3D is a surveying, design, analysis and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation and environmental projects. AutoCAD LT is drafting and detailing software. BIM 360 is construction management cloud-based software.

Autodesk also offers computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numerical control machining, inspection and modeling for manufacturing. Its Fusion 360 is a 3D CAD, CAM and computer-aided engineering tool, and its Industry Collections software products are for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment industries.

The analysts said this in the report:

Autodesk is an idea we continue to like for 2021+ as the company executes on several cyclical/secular growth opportunities in AEC and manufacturing, reaccelerating revenue growth in the process. Autodesk customers are becoming more comfortable with the prospect of incremental investments following election/vaccine outcomes; within Autodesk’s own performance, this should manifest in steady bookings improvement throughout the year.

The Baird price target for the shares is $342, and the Wall Street consensus target is lower at $295.53. Autodesk stock closed trading on Tuesday at $301.70 a share.

This stock has made solid moves off last year’s lows but looks poised to go even higher in this year. Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) designs, develops and supplies semiconductors and collects royalties on wireless handheld devices and infrastructure based on its dominant position in CDMA and other related technology patents.

In addition, Qualcomm provides systems software and components to wireless handset vendors and promotes applications and services that run on high-speed wireless networks. The company operates primarily through two segments: CDMA Technologies and Technology Licensing.

5G should prove to be big for the company, and the analysts said this:

Qualcomm is at the center of the unfolding 5G secular cycle. Key drivers for the stock in 2021 include an expected >2x year-over year growth in 5G phone units, expected market share gains in China given the Huawei backdrop, along with expansion of 5G use cases beyond smartphones to multiple end markets. RF represents a significant incremental revenue opportunity, characterized by high ASPs, ever-growing content, and market share gains. Qualcomm’s RF technology has now found significant traction at the two key smartphone OEMs, along at other OEMs.

Shareholders receive a 1.71% dividend. Baird has a price target of $200, well above the posted consensus target of $164.56. Qualcomm stock closed Tuesday’s trading at $152.43.

RingCentral

Some feel this smaller cap company could be a great takeover target. RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) offers a cloud-based solution for business communications that replaces legacy and expensive on-premise communications systems. It is delivered as an application that follows the user regardless of device (office phone, smartphone, desktop, tablet). Features include voice, text, fax, audio conferencing and integration with document and customer relationship management systems.

Despite a big move higher, the analysts remain bullish:

RingCentral has separated itself as the leader in the UCaaS market, competing in a $50+ billion global total addressable market that is only ~10% penetrated. It has consistently grown revenue over 30% while generating healthy and growing margins. The pandemic has likely accelerated the decision to move from on premise to cloud for many businesses, including large enterprises that typically take longer to transition. While competition has increased, particularly from Microsoft and Zoom, RingCentral has put in place a robust distribution network that positions it well to capitalize on the rapid shift to cloud.

The $440 Baird price target compares with a $364.74 consensus target. RingCentral stock closed Tuesday at $383.63 per share.

Baird analysts favor this stock as they see it as a smartphone content and infrastructure provider as well. Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) designs, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary semiconductor products, including intellectual property worldwide.

The company’s product portfolio includes amplifiers, antenna tuners, attenuators, circulators/isolators, DC/DC converters, demodulators, detectors, diodes, directional couplers, diversity receive modules, filters, front-end modules, hybrids, LED drivers, low noise amplifiers, mixers, modulators, optocouplers/optoisolators, phase-locked loops, phase shifters, power dividers/combiners, receivers, switches, synthesizers, technical ceramics, voltage-controlled oscillators/synthesizers and voltage regulators, as well as wireless radio integrated circuits.

Skyworks provides its products for use in the aerospace, automotive, broadband, cellular infrastructure, connected home, industrial, medical, military, smartphone, tablet and wearable markets.

Baird said this about the prospects for 2021:

Skyworks remains a core holding on the 5G secular growth theme. In mobile, we expect 5G smartphone units to more than double in 2021 along with ongoing content increases. Additionally, C band represents an incremental RF content opportunity in 5G phones for 2021. We also expect Skyworks to benefit from Huawei’s share losses via a stronger incumbent position at other smartphone OEMs including Samsung. Besides smartphones, broad markets should experience a very strong reacceleration next year as 5G use cases expand into a variety of applications such as industrial IoT and automotive.

Skyworks Solutions stock investors receive a 1.26% dividend. Baird has set a $180 price target. The consensus target is $161.04, and the last trade for Tuesday was reported at $156.30.

Twilio

This may be the top stock to own in this fast-growing segment. Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) provides cloud communications platform that enables developers to build, scale and operate communications within software applications through the cloud as a pay-as-you-go service in the United States and internationally.

The company offers programmable communications cloud software that enables developers to embed voice, messaging, video and authentication capabilities into their applications through application programming interfaces. The company also provides use case products, such as a two-factor authentication solution.

Last year proved solid for Twilio, and the analysts said this:

Because of the broad diversification across industry and product, its exposure to impacted industries turned out to be far less than anticipated and the benefits from other industries more meaningful. Digital transformation has significantly accelerated, and companies now more than ever need to invest in digital customer engagement. Twilio has established itself as the undisputed leader in communication APIs, with a widening geographic, product and developer moat.

The Baird price objective is $425. The consensus price target is lower at $376.59. Twilio stock closed at $341.24 on Tuesday.

Baird seems to have purposely distanced the top picks from the high-profile social media stocks and other meg-cap giants, and with good reason. Many of them are coming under close scrutiny in Washington, D.C., for a variety of reasons. While all these ideas are very aggressive, they should avoid some of the pitfalls that could face other tech giants in 2021. With that noted, in front of upcoming earnings, it may make sense to scale into positions.

The post Baird Has 5 Sizzling Technology Stocks to Buy Now for 2021 appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

After years of a low interest rate environment, many investors have turned to equities not only for the growth potential but also for solid and dependable dividends that help to provide an income stream. What this equates to is total return, which is one of the most powerful investment strategies going.

We always like to remind our readers about the impact total return can have on portfolios because it is one of the best ways to help improve the chances for overall investing success. Again, total return is the combined increase in a stock’s value plus the dividends. For instance, if you buy a stock at $20 that pays a 3% dividend, and it goes up to $22 in a year, your total return is 13%: 10% for the increase in stock price and 3% for the dividends paid.

Six companies are expected to hike their dividends this week, all of them are rated Buy at some of the top firms on Wall Street. While it is always possible that not all six do raise their dividends, leading analysts and pundits expect them to, and generally the data is based on past increases in the firm’s dividend payouts. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Mondelez

This consumer sector giant makes good sense for conservative investors. Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) manufactures and markets snack food and beverage products worldwide. It offers biscuits, including cookies, crackers and salted snacks; chocolates, and gums and candies; powdered beverages and coffee; and cheese and grocery products.

Its primary brand portfolio includes LU, Nabisco and Oreo biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolates; Trident gum; Jacobs Kaffee; and Tang powdered beverages.

Mondelez sells its products to supermarket chains, wholesalers, supercenters, club stores, mass merchandisers, distributors, convenience stores, gasoline stations, drug stores, value stores and other retail food outlets through direct store delivery, company-owned and satellite warehouses, distribution centers and other facilities, as well as through independent sales offices and agents.

Shareholders currently receive a 1.98% dividend. The company is expected to raise the dividend to $0.35 per share from $0.315.

BofA Securities has a $70 price target for the stock, while the Wall Street consensus target is $69.17. Mondelez stock began trading on Monday at $64.79 a share.

Shares of this somewhat off-the-radar company offer solid upside potential. MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) engages in the provision of investment decision support tools including, indices, portfolio risk and performance analytics and corporate governance products and services.

The company operates through the following business segments. The Index segment is involved in the index-linked product creation and performance benchmarking, as well as portfolio construction and rebalancing and asset allocation. The Analytics segment offers risk management, performance attribution and portfolio management content, applications and services.

The Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) segment offers products and services that help institutional investors understand how ESG factors can impact the long-term risk of investments. The Real Estate segment includes research, reporting, market data and benchmarking offerings that provide real estate performance analysis for funds, investors and managers. While the Burgiss segment provides investment decision support tools for private capital.

Shareholders receive a 0.54% dividend. The company is expected to raise the dividend to $0.88 per share from $0.78.

Royal Bank of Canada’s $600 price target is well above the $552.44 consensus target. Monday’s opening trade for MSCI stock was at $574.21.

Skyworks

Many Wall Street analysts favor this company, as they see it as a smartphone content and infrastructure provider. Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) designs, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary semiconductor products, including intellectual property worldwide.

The company’s product portfolio includes amplifiers, antenna tuners, attenuators, circulators/isolators, DC/DC converters, demodulators, detectors, diodes, directional couplers, diversity receive modules, filters, front-end modules, hybrids, LED drivers, low noise amplifiers, mixers, modulators, optocouplers/optoisolators, phase-locked loops, phase shifters, power dividers/combiners, receivers, switches, synthesizers, technical ceramics, voltage-controlled oscillators/synthesizers and voltage regulators, as well as wireless radio integrated circuits.

Skyworks provides its products for use in the aerospace, automotive, broadband, cellular infrastructure, connected home, industrial, medical, military, smartphone, tablet and wearable markets.

Shareholders now receive a 1.04% dividend. The company is expected to raise the $0.50 per share dividend to $0.56.

The $225 KeyCorp price target compares with a consensus target for Skyworks Solutions stock of $206.19. Shares opened on Monday at $192.27 apiece.

24/7 Wall St.
5 Sizzling Buy-Rated Stocks Trading Under $10 With Big-Time Upside Potential

Weingarten Realty

This real estate giant is a very timely buy and has always provided solid dividend coverage. Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE: WRI) is a Houston-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns mainly neighborhood and community shopping centers.

Its portfolio includes 170 properties located in 17 states spanning the country from coast to coast. These properties represent approximately 33.0 million square feet, of which Weingarten interests in these properties aggregated is approximately 21.5 million square feet of leasable area.
Shareholders receive a 2.87% dividend. Weingarten Realty Investors is expected to raise the dividend from $0.23 per share to $0.30.

Baird’s $29 price target looks to be going higher, as the posted consensus target is $31. The shares opened Monday trading at $32.06.

Wells Fargo

This large-cap bank is perhaps one of the best value plays for the rest of 2021, and it reported solid second-quarter results. Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets.

The company provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 12,800 ATMs, the Internet and mobile banking. It also has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.

Shareholders receive a 0.90% dividend. Analysts expected the company to raise its dividend to $0.20 per share from $0.10.

BofA Securities has set a street-high $60 price target. The consensus target is $49.39, and Wells Fargo stock opened at $44.47 on Monday.

Wingstop

This stock has huge upside potential, and with the NFL season right around the corner, you can bet the orders will skyrocket. Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) operates and franchises more than 1,500 locations worldwide.

The company is dedicated to serving the world flavor through an unparalleled guest experience and offering of classic wings, boneless wings and tenders, always cooked to order and hand-sauced-and-tossed in fans’ choice of 11 bold, distinctive flavors. Wingstop’s menu also features signature sides including fresh-cut, seasoned fries and freshly made ranch and bleu cheese dips.

Top analysts feel that Wingstop is still in the early innings of a long-term growth story, as the company has a strong, digitally focused foundation to support unit growth. Wingstop is 98% franchised, with around 1,500 units globally (1,300 domestic, 200 international) and some of the best unit-level economics in the industry lending support to franchisee demand.

Shareholders are paid a 0.35% dividend. The company is expected to raise its dividend to $0.17 per share from $0.14.

Baird has a $185 price target on Wingstop stock. The $170.47 consensus target is near Monday’s open at $169.63 a share.

Again, shares of these six top companies are rated Buy across Wall Street, and each company is expected to lift what it pays to shareholders this week. Not only is increasing dividends and returning capital to investors important, but it also shows that the company is doing well and has the earnings and cash flow strength to increase the payouts.

The post 6 Top Buy-Rated Stocks With Expected Dividend Hikes This Week appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were hammered on Monday and were indicated to open handily lower on Tuesday due to another disappointment from Boeing and due to poor retail stock earnings reactions. Investors have been forced to see numerous waves of selling in 2018, and there has also been lower upside after buying immediately after the big market selloffs versus prior years. Now is the time for investors to start considering how they want their investments and assets positioned for 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new investing ideas and trading ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while some of the analyst reports cover stocks to sell or stocks to avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets mentioned and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Tuesday, November 20, 2018.

ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT) was started with an Outperform rating and was assigned a $12 price target (versus $7.68 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was maintained as Neutral and saw its price target cut to $182 from $209 at Goldman Sachs, with the firm noting weakness in China and a less than stellar reception to the iPhone XR pricing. Apple was down almost 4% at $185.86 on Monday and was indicated down 3.5% at $178.40 on Tuesday. Another day, another Apple downgrade based on the same information as the prior 4 analyst cuts that took the shares lower. Apple is now in bear market territory.

Apptio Inc. (NASDAQ: APTI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the target price was lowered down to $38 from $39 at Nomura/Instinet.

Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) was started as Outperform with a $47 price target (versus $35.83 close) at RBC Capital Markets. Aramark has a consensus analyst target price of $47.67.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. BP has a 52-week range of $36.15 to $47.82 and its ADSs were indicated down 1% at $40.50 on Tuesday.

Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ: BECN) was maintained as Outperform at Wedbush Securities, but the firm slashed its target price to $30 from $50. Raymond James lowered its rating to Outperform from Strong Buy as well.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $29 target price at Goldman Sachs. Cabot Oil & Gas was indicated down 2% at $25.28 on Wednesday, versus a prior consensus analyst target price of $27.04.

Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham & Co. Ciena shares were indicated down 4% at $31.00 on Tuesday, and the consensus analyst target price was last seen at $34.25.

Cintas Corp. (NASDAQ: CTAS) was started as Outperform with a $215 price target (versus $179.58 close) at RBC Capital Markets. Cintas had a consensus analyst target price of $210.78.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. Exxon Mobil was indicated down 1.1% at $78.31 and the consensus analyst target price was $89.42.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. Fortinet was indicated down 3.5% at $65.50 with a consensus analyst target price of $84.54.

Inogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: INGN) was raised to Strong Buy from Buy with a $280 price target (versus $137.45 close) at Needham & Co.

JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: JD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the target price was lowered to $24 from $41 at Nomura/Instinet. JD.com was also downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was cut to $24 from $35.00 at Macquarie.

Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was downgraded in a two-notch cut at Robert W. Baird, down to Underperform from Outperform and slashing the price target down to $32 from $75. Micron was indicated down 7.4% at $34.10, versus a 52-week low of $33.82 and versus a 52-week high of $64.66. This call fells a month or more late based on other calls, but that’s life.

Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $100 price target (versus $69.21 close) at BTIG Research. Qualys has a 52-week range of $ 55.05 to $98.30and has a consensus analyst price target of $93.25.

Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and the price objective was lowered to $75 from $92 at BofA Merrill Lynch. Skyworks was down 3% at $70.76 on Monday and was indicated down 4.6% more at $67.50 on Tuesday — breaking under its 52-week low of $70.57. Another late tech call?

Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE: TER) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $40 price objective (versus $35.29 close) at BofA Merrill Lynch. Teradyne has a 52-week range of $30.22 to $50.68 and has a consensus analyst price target of $39.29.

UDR, Inc. (NYSE: UDR) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird. UDR was indicated down over 4% at $86.50 on Tuesday, and it has a 52-week range of $32.88 to $41.63 and has a consensus analyst price target of $41.20.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna. Western Digital was indicated down 4% at $43.30 on Tuesday and it had a consensus analyst target price of $72.20 that still looks artificially high, and its 52-week range is $40.58 to $106.96.

Barclays set a 3,000 target for the S&P 500 for 2019.

Could this drug stock have over 30% upside in this bad stock market?

Credit Suisse sees 3 airline stocks flying much higher than their peers.

Monday’s top analyst calls were in shares of American Air, BlackBerry, Mallinkrodt, PG&E, RingCentral, Southwest Airlines, Yeti and many more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: ADT, Apple, BP, Ciena, Exxon Mobil, Fortinet, JD.com, Micron, UDR, Western Digital and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

We have seen dividend yields skyrocket across all sectors as falling stock prices have pushed them higher. With bond yields tumbling to generational lows as investors looking for safety pile in, portfolio managers at income funds are finding themselves in a quandary looking for suitable investments. The problem portfolio managers have is that, in many sectors, dividends are being cut or eliminated altogether, and adding them to a portfolio looking to produce consistent income becomes a risky proposition.

In a new research report from Merrill Lynch, the firm’s semiconductor analyst Vivek Arya makes the case that income fund managers should probably be looking at the semiconductors for solid yield potential, and with good reason. Arya points out that the stocks are very underweighted, have resilient computing end-markets, trade at low 12 or 13 price-to-earnings ratios and, with other sectors facing severe cuts and reductions, the consistent and reliable dividends paid by the chip companies make sense in our brave new world.

We found four stocks that are rated Buy at Merrill and come with big dividends that make sense for portfolio managers and more aggressive retail investors.

Broadcom

This company has rallied smartly off the lows but still offers big upside potential. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) has an extensive semiconductor product portfolio that addresses applications within the wired infrastructure, wireless communications, enterprise storage and industrial end markets.

Applications for Broadcom’s products in its end markets include data center networking, home connectivity, broadband access, telecommunications equipment, smartphones and base stations, data center servers and storage, factory automation, power generation and alternative energy systems and displays.

Top Wall Street analysts like Broadcom’s leadership in the mobile, data center and broadband markets, and especially in the radio frequency (RF) arena. Many on Wall Street see a cyclical rebound in industrial and communications demand on the horizon.

Investors receive a very large 5.03% dividend. The Merrill price target for the shares is $305, and the Wall Street consensus target is lower at $296.04. Broadcom stock closed trading on Monday at $258.28 apiece.

Intel

This legacy leader in semiconductors has continued working hard to focus more on Internet of Things and data center cloud spending, and it was one of the top picks at Merrill Lynch for 2020. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) designs, manufactures and sells integrated digital technology platforms worldwide.

The company’s platforms are used in various computing applications, comprising notebooks, two-in-one systems, desktops, servers, tablets, smartphones, wireless and wired connectivity products, wearables, retail devices and manufacturing devices, as well as for retail, transportation, industrial, buildings, home use and other market segments.

The analysts said this in front of the earnings for the first quarter, which will be reported this week:

We see inline first quarter, with our second quarter fiscal year 2020 estimated sales 3-4% below Street estimates. Focus on 10 nanometer manufacturing progress & on original $5 fiscal year 2020 earnings guidance (we/street now lower at $4.57/$4.82) We like Intel’s underappreciated scale/incumbency in secular AI/5G/cloud markets; the dividend yield also attractive/defensible.

Investors receive a 2.19% dividend. The Merrill analysts have set a price target of $68. The posted consensus price objective is $63.10, and the last Intel stock trade on Monday came in at $59.18.

This is a company the Merrill analysts favor as they see it as a smartphone content and infrastructure provider as well. Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) designs, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary semiconductor products, including intellectual property worldwide.

The company’s product portfolio includes amplifiers, antenna tuners, attenuators, circulators/isolators, DC/DC converters, demodulators, detectors, diodes, directional couplers, diversity receive modules, filters, front-end modules, hybrids, LED drivers, low noise amplifiers, mixers, modulators, optocouplers/optoisolators, phase-locked loops, phase shifters, power dividers/combiners, receivers, switches, synthesizers, technical ceramics, voltage-controlled oscillators/synthesizers and voltage regulators, as well as wireless radio integrated circuits.

Skyworks provides its products for use in the aerospace, automotive, broadband, cellular infrastructure, connected home, industrial, medical, military, smartphone, tablet and wearable markets. It sells its products through direct sales force, electronic component distributors and independent sales representatives. The company has also benefited from an increased exposure to Apple products, and most on Wall Street see the potential for further margin expansion.

Shareholders receive a 1.90% dividend. The $110 Merrill price target compares with a $112.33 consensus target and the most recent closing share price of $92.53.

Texas Instruments

This old-school chip tech company offers solid value at current levels and is a great pick for investors who are more conservative. Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) is a broad-based supplier of semiconductor components, ranging from digital signal processors to high-performance analog components, to digital light-processing technology and calculators.

Some 65% of the company’s sales are exposed to the well-diversified, business-to-business industrial, automotive, communications infrastructure and enterprise markets. While business from those sectors, especially automotive, could suffer in the near term, the analyst feels the solid dividend should support the shares.

The company is also a big Apple supplier, so the long-term outlook for this venerable leader makes it a safer bet for accounts with less risk tolerance.

Investors receive a solid 3.23% dividend. Merrill has a $120 price target for the shares. The consensus target was last seen at $121.50. Texas Instruments stock closed at $111.53 a share on Monday.

The thought of income fund managers turning to chip stocks seems counterintuitive, but in today’s new normal, it makes perfect sense. Investors should tread carefully as first-quarter earnings for these are right around the corner, with some coming this week, smaller starting positions may be in order now.

The post Why Merrill Lynch Says Income Fund Managers Should Buy Semiconductor Stocks appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks managed to recover all of Thursday’s big losses on Friday, and then some, and the major equity market indexes were signaling a slight positive open on Monday. Investors are still recovering from major selling and volatility, but the longstanding trend of buying every dip just has not been working for some time now. Investors should be rethinking and considering how they want their investments and assets positioned for 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, January 7, 2019.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $262 price target (versus a $226.19 prior close) at Pivotal Research.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $205 target price (versus a $158.81 close) at Barclays.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $1,240 from $1,000 (versus a $1,078.07 close) at Pivotal Research. The parent of Google closed up 5% on Friday and was shown with a flat indication on Monday. Its consensus target price was about $1,350 coming into this call.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) was downgraded at Cowen to Market Perform on Monday in a sector call, along with British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands. The firm noted that industry volumes should drop by 8% per year from 2018 to 2025, a faster drop than price hikes will be able to keep up with.

Arista Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ANET) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $250 price target (versus a $206.50 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the target price was lowered to $33 from $43 (versus a $30.09 close) at Morgan Stanley. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $26.21 to $64.42.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) was raised to Neutral from Negative with a $174 price target (versus a $166.62 close) at Susquehanna.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $125 target price (versus a $108.77 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Epizyme Inc. (NASDAQ: EPZM) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $12 price target (versus a $7.94 close) at Leerink. This was on the heels of a nearly 33% gain on Friday after the company announced the registration path for Tazemetostat for follicular lymphoma and also gave a pipeline update along with 2019 guidance.

Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $118 price target (versus a $107.97 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.

Owens-Illinois Inc. (NYSE: OI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Barclays.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was lowered to $144 from $154 (versus a $121.23 close) at Goldman Sachs.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $32 target price (versus a $27.20 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) was raised to Buy from Neutral but the target price was lowered to $145 from $170 (versus a $93.87 close) at UBS.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $164 price target at Pivotal Research. The stock was also added to the Best Ideas List at Wedbush Securities. Shares of Salesforce.com previously closed up almost 6% at $137.96, and they were indicated up another 2% at $140.70 on Monday, in a 52-week trading range of $102.37 to $161.19 and with a prior consensus target price of $171.78.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SLGN) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $27 target price (versus a $23.66 close) at Citigroup.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the target price was lowered to $6 from $8 at Pivotal Research. Snap closed up 4.7% at $5.95 on Friday but was indicated down about 1% on Monday. Its 52-week range is $4.82 to $21.22.

24/7 Wall St.
5 Stocks Under $10 With Huge Upside Potential to Buy for 2019

Spotify Technologies S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim. Spotify closed up 8.7% at $118.51 on Friday but was indicated down about 1% on Monday, in a 52-week range of $103.29 to $198.99.

Trustmark Corp. (NASDAQ: TRMK) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was raised to Hold from Sell with a $35 price target (versus a $31.68 close) at Deutsche Bank.

See also six health care picks are set to scream higher in 2019 and five stocks under $10 that have big analyst upside calls for 2019.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Bed Bath & Beyond, CBOE, eBay, Etsy, Intel, Netflix, Nokia, Snap, UTC, Vonage and many more companies.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Adobe, Altria, Alphabet, Dollar General, Hyatt, PNC, Salesforce, Snap, Spotify and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

June 8, 2018: The S&P 500 closed up 0.3% at 2,778.75. The DJIA closed up 0.3% at 25,314.19. Separately, the Nasdaq was up 0.1% at 7,645.51.

Friday was a positive day for the broad U.S. markets, if only slightly. Crude oil inched lower to close out the week just below $66. The S&P 500 sectors were mostly positive. The most positive sectors were consumer staples and health care up 1.1% and 0.6%, respectively. The worst performing sectors were energy and utilities down 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.

Crude oil was last seen trading down 0.5% at $65.65.

Gold was last seen trading flat at $1,303.00.

The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close was Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) which traded down over 2% at $99.79. The stock’s 52-week range is $86.13 to $117.65. Volume was over 2.5 million compared to the daily average volume of 2.1 million.

The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close was Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) which rose about 5% to $55.48. The stock’s 52-week range is $47.61 to $70.22. Volume was about 6 million compared to the daily average volume of 3.5 million.

The post Friday’s Biggest Winners and Losers in the S&P 500 appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures were modestly higher after a big rally Friday, which was spurred on by the solid nonfarm payrolls report that finally came in above analyst estimates. All the indexes once again printed all-time highs. With earnings reporting starting to slow down, and Wall Street starting to look down the road at the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we may see volumes start to taper some. Buyers returned to the Treasury market once again on Friday as yields across the curve all fell to their lowest levels in over a month.

Despite the continued market strength, top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on the potential for rising interest rates, the aforementioned quantitative easing tapering, big increases in energy costs and, while perhaps easing some, the ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries. Toss in the debt ceiling issue that will return in December and the ongoing China worries, the cauldron continues to simmer.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, November 8, 2021.

Appian Corp. (NASDAQ: APPN): Truist Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and also raised the target price to $116 from $105. The consensus price target is $106.57. The stock closed Friday at $90.73, which was down almost 13% after the company missed analysts’ earnings estimates.

Apria Inc. (NASDAQ: APR): Citigroup resumed coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a $43 price target. The consensus target is lower at $38. The stock retreated over 2% on Friday to close at $35.75.

Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE): Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight and has an $11 price target. The consensus target is $22.40. The stock closed Friday at $13.14, which was down almost 20% for the day after the company reported a third-quarter loss and revenue came in way below estimates.

24/7 Wall St.
Despite Massive Market Melt-Up, 4 Buy-Rated Stocks With Huge Dividends Are Still Cheap

Cryoport Inc. (NASDAQ: CYRX): Roth Capital cut the stock to Neutral from Buy, but raised its $78 target price to $90. The $80.44 consensus is below Friday’s closing share price of $81.27.

DataDog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): Moness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a Buy rating and lifted the target price to $220 from $160. The consensus target is $165.44. The last trade on Friday hit the tape at $185.51, which was up over 11% on the day, as earnings and forward guidance topped analysts’ expectations.

EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG) BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and lifted the target price to $110 from $104. The consensus target is $107.12. Friday’s final trade was at $95.12 a share, after almost a 5% gain due to blowout earnings for the latest quarter.

Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K): Goldman Sachs raised the $64 target price on the cereal and food products giant to $67 while keeping a Neutral rating on the shares. The posted consensus target is $67.77. The shares closed on Friday at $62.56.

Krispy Kreme Inc. (NASDAQ: DNUT): As Truist Securities downgraded the popular doughnut maker to Hold from Buy, it also cut the $21 price target to $15. The consensus target is $18.78. The final trade for Friday was reported at $14.10 a share.

24/7 Wall St.
5 Top Analysts Favorite Stocks Under $10 Are Smoking Hot

Maxor Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MAXR): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating and $50 price target after the company posted solid quarterly results. That compares with the lower $42.86 consensus target and Friday’s final print of $32.04.

McAfee Corp. (NASDAQ: MCFE): Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and lowered the price objective to $25 from $32. The consensus target is $28.44. The last trade Friday came in at $25.46. That was up over 20% for the day after it became known the security-software company is possibly nearing a deal to sell itself to a group including private-equity firms Advent International and Permira for more than $10 billion, according to published reports.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA): Though Deutsche Bank downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy, the firm raised the price target from $127 to $136. The consensus target is $131. Friday’s closing print of $132.29 was down almost 6% for the day, despite the company beating estimates and lifting guidance.
Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON): Telsey Advisory joined many Wall Street firms and downgraded the stock. Its Outperform rating was lowered to Market Perform and the $135 target price was slashed to $70. The current consensus target is $127.19, but that won’t last for long. The stock closed Friday at $55.64, down a stunning 35% after the company posted horrible numbers and drastically cut forward guidance.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM): BofA Securities resumed coverage of the homebuilder with an Underperform rating and a $53 price target. The higher consensus target is $66.64, and Friday’s closing print was $50.43, after almost a 3% pullback for the day.

Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on the stock, which remains on the firm’s Conviction List of top stock picks. The firm also has an $86 price target for the company, which just reported in-line earnings. The consensus target is $79.25. The last trade to hit the tape Friday was reported at $71.77 a share.

Redbox Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: RDBX): Canaccord Genuity started coverage on the popular video rental company with a Buy rating and a $25 price target. The consensus target is up at $35. The closing share price on Friday of $15.60 was down a stunning 13% for the day.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): The Summit Insights downgrade was to Hold from Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $134.28 and $204 a share, and it has a $210.39 consensus price target. The shares were last seen Friday at $164.06, or down over 4% on the day.

Four well-known Buy-rated stocks have dividend hikes expected this week.

Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Allstate, AMC Entertainment, Costco, Electronic Arts, Etsy, Lyft, Peloton Interactive, Plug Power, Qualcomm, Roku and Starbucks. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on GlaxoSmithKline, Nikola, Regeneron, Shake Shack and more.

The post Monday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Cinemark, Datadog, EOG Resources, Kellogg, Krispy Kreme, McAfee, Peloton and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Wireless use in the United States and around the world is now pretty much ubiquitous, and it looks to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Plus, when you consider the devices that use wireless, the increase in capability and function since the release of the first smartphones just over 10 years has been tremendous and shall continue to stay that way one can only assume.

A new research report from Baird notes that the roll-out of 5G is well underway. 5G is the fifth generation of cellular mobile communications. It succeeds the 4G, 3G and 2G systems. 5G performance targets include high data rate, reduced latency, energy saving, cost reduction, higher system capacity and massive device connectivity. All are needed given today’s massive demand.

The analysts noted this in the report:

While the ramp of 5G is initially marked by the release of high band spectrum, core network upgrades will define true, zero-latency 5G. Some functionality will relocate from base stations to data centers. Field-programmable gate arrays are expected to benefit from real-time demand associated with C-RAN, sometimes referred to as Centralized-RAN, is a proposed architecture for future cellular networks on the network.

Three stocks rated Outperform at Baird are what they call 5G derivatives due to their exposure to potential business for the build-out. All are good picks for speculative accounts looking for alpha-generating ideas.

Analog Devices

This stock could very well benefit from an increase in information technology and 5G spending, and the company does a sizable portion of its business with Apple. Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) is a leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing integrated circuits for use in industrial, automotive, consumer and communication markets worldwide. It offers signal processing products that convert, condition and process real-world phenomena, such as temperature, pressure, sound, light, speed and motion, into electrical signals.

Last year the company introduced a highly integrated polyphase analog front end with power quality analysis designed to help extend the health and life of industrial equipment while saving developers significant time and cost over custom solutions. Achieving extremely accurate, high-performance power quality monitoring typically requires customized development, which can be expensive and time-consuming.

Analog Devices investors are paid a 2.09% dividend. The Baird price target for the stock is $110, and the Wall Street consensus price target is $108.95. The shares closed Tuesday trading at $91.86.

Semtech

This is another chip company that the Baird team likes for a 5G infrastructure and small cell play. Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTC) is a supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products. It designs, develops and markets a range of products for commercial applications, which are sold into the enterprise computing, communications, consumer and industrial end markets.

The company’s product lines include Signal Integrity, Protection, Wireless and Sensing, and Power and High-Reliability. Applications for the industrial market include video broadcast studio equipment, automated meter reading, wireless charging, military and aerospace, medical, security systems, automotive, Internet of Things, industrial and home automation, and video security and surveillance.

Semtech also focuses on enterprise computing end-markets including desktops, notebooks, servers, graphic boards, printers, data center–related equipment and passive optical networks. Communications end-market applications include wireless base stations, carrier networks, switches and routers, cable modems, signal conditioners and wireless local area network.

Baird has a $56 price target, while the consensus target is $61.40. The shares closed Tuesday at $59.95.

Skyworks Solutions

Baird analysts also favor this one as they see them as a smartphone content and infrastructure provider as well. Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) is the market leader in power amplifiers, front-end modules and other radio frequency (RF) components for mobile devices (handsets, smartphones, tablets) and communications infrastructure.

The company’s RF products are benefitting from a two to four times content increase in front-end RF from the migration to data-intensive 3G/4G smartphones from voice intensive 2G phones. And it is expected to jump even more with 5G adoption. The company also has benefited from an increased exposure to Apple products, and most on Wall Street see the potential for further margin expansion.

The $125 Baird price target compares with a consensus target of $117.88 and the most recent close at $86.81 per share.

While it remains to be seen exactly just how these companies are impacted by the 5G roll-out, one thing is for sure. They all have exciting prospects for the future and can be solid holdings for aggressive growth investors.

The post Why 3 Stocks to Buy Could Be Huge 5G Winners appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The markets have seen big gaps up and down all week, after last week’s major sell-off wrecked the bull market’s status. Thursday’s trading levels were calling a volatile open with a 600-point drop in the Dow Jones industrials and a 75-point drop in S&P 500 futures. The market was not as pleased initially with the emergency rate cut as the Federal Reserve might have hoped, but a new emergency funding package to fight the coronavirus and international pledges and stimulus have been seen as further support.

Despite the volatility due to coronavirus outbreak fears and the added pressure coming from the political election cycle this year, many investors have not made that many major changes to their holdings after the incredible gains from 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new ideas for traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while some calls cover stocks to sell or to avoid. It is worth noting that many analysts have not hit the panic button, as they maintain positive ratings on many of the top stocks, unless there has been a major change inside of a company.

We have provided these analyst calls in a quick-hit summary for easy reading, and additional comments and trading data have been added on many of the calls. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Thursday, March 5, 2020.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a $96 target price (versus $82.09 prior close) at Citigroup.

Alcon Inc. (NYSE: ALC) was started with a Neutral rating at Citigroup.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.

Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) was reiterated as Underweight and its target price was lowered to $26 from $32 at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed down 3.4% at $28.91 on Wednesday, with a 52-week range of $23.86 to $52.98 and a $46.83 prior consensus target price.

Axonics Modulation Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AXNX) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $48 from $38 (versus a $37.73 prior close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX) was started with a Neutral rating at Citigroup.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $100 target price (versus a $104.00 close) at Goldman Sachs. It was indicated down 2.4% at $101.50, and its prior consensus target price was $118.62. The 52-week trading range is $98.91 to $132.76.

Cheniere Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: CQP) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $41.50 target price (versus a $32.60 close, after a 3.2% drop) at UBS. It has a 52-week range of $31.38 to $49.30, and its prior consensus target price was $41.16.

China Petrol & Chemical Corp. (NYSE: SNP) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that oil and China are probably not the right places to invest now. Shares last closed at $52.07, with a consensus price target of $75.70.

Cooper Companies Inc. (NYSE: COO) was started with a Neutral rating at Citigroup.

DexCom Inc. (NASDAQ: DXCM) was started with a Buy rating and a $330 target price at Citigroup. The stock was up 4% at $283.87 a share as of Wednesday’s close, with a consensus target price of $294.93 and a 52-week trading range of $107.44 to $306.71.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) was started with a Buy rating and a $252 target price (versus a $217.38 close) at Citigroup.

Insulet Corp. (NASDAQ: PODD) was started with a Buy rating and a $220 target price (versus a $179.05 close) at Citigroup.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ICPT) was started with a Neutral rating at Merrill Lynch.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was started with a Buy rating and a $163 target price (versus a $143.48 close) at Citigroup.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that rates at all-time lows have to be great for homebuilders. Shares most recently closed at $35.99 and have a consensus price target of $40.50.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $32 from $28 at B. Riley FBR. Marvell closed up 6% at $22.59 on Wednesday, and it was indicated up 7.5% at $24.29 on Thursday. It had a $29.00 prior consensus target price, and the 52-week trading range is $18.08 to $28.86.

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch. Shares closed down 1.5% at $27.49 on Wednesday, against a 52-week range of $11.54 to $36.00 and with a $33.22 consensus target price.

Novocure Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVCR) was raised to Overweight with a $90 target price (versus a $73.62 close) at Wells Fargo.

NuVasive Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) was started with a Neutral rating at Citigroup.

Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $115 target price at Needham. The stock closed up 4.4% at $92.06 on Wednesday, with a $122.75 consensus target price.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was raised to Buy from Hold but its target price was lowered to $125 from $130 at Canaccord Genuity. It closed up 3.7% at $103.36 ahead of the call, with a $127.76 consensus target price.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $19 target price at MKM Partners. Snap closed up 0.6% at $13.63 and was indicated up almost 1% at $13.75 on Thursday, with a 52-week range of $9.16 to $19.75 and against a consensus target price of $20.00.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was up 4.6% at $155.40 ahead of earnings, but its shares were indicated down about 3% at $150.50 after guidance contained some less than robust sales versus expectations. Raymond James maintained its Outperform rating and lowered its target price to $179 from $199. Cowen reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target to $165 from $160. Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $180 from $160, while SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reiterated its Buy rating and maintained its $190 target price. Wedbush Securities reiterated it as Outperform with a $200 target price.

Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK) was started with a Buy rating and a $235 target price (versus a $198.40 close) at Citigroup.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. NASDAQ: ZM) was last seen trading down 7.7% at $107.80 despite strong earnings, likely as its stock was up almost 30% since mid-February as the coronavirus and company’s keeping workers at home creates that much more opportunities for Zoom to win business. Piper Sandler reiterated it as Neutral but raised its target price to $110 from $70.

With long-term U.S. interest rates at all-time lows, Merrill Lynch has five conservative income stocks that should shine against such low interest rates.

The range of electric vehicles may have just been extended to 400 miles on a single charge, and it wasn’t by Elon Musk.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Altria, Beyond Meat, Chevron, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Epizyme, FedEx, Home Depot, Mattel, Morgan Stanley, Oracle, Qualcomm, Target and many more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Abbott Labs, Alexion, Avis Budget, DexCom, J&J, Marvell, Moderna, Snap, Splunk, Zoom Video and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The world is supposed to have endless excitement about the future of computing, autonomous cars, smartphones, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence and machine learning. Apparently, the excitement must be tempered sometimes when stock prices get too high.

Morgan Stanley’s Tuesday report on semiconductor chips and processors was rather positive on some companies. The firm also grew more cautious on others. Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades captured some of the research report’s calls, but the reality is that many more companies in chip-world were noted.

Joseph Moore, the analyst behind the call, sees valuation concerns persisting in some of the top players that are driving the future of computing. Some of his targets were already very far behind the current prices, so investors may want to consider some of these target hikes more as house-cleaning calls. Still, the sector call included some key upgrades, and even some with the equivalent of Sell ratings.

While some of these look like valuation, Joseph is effectively moving his preferences into the chip stocks that are more likely to benefit from a broader economic recovery rather than remote-working trends.

Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a sole decision to buy or sell shares in a company. Consensus estimates below are from Refinitiv. First, the top players mentioned in the call are listed, and then the rest have been ranked based on the formal ratings.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) had been a favorite of the momentum players up until recently. AMD was maintained as Equal Weight but its price target was raised to $56 from $42 (versus a $54.68 prior close). Its consensus target price was $53.89.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $60 target price. Intel closed up 1.3% at $60.10 on Monday and was trading up two cents to $60.30 in late-morning trading. The prior consensus target price is $63.40.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $380 price target (versus a $366.95 close). Joseph still likes the long-term story for Nvidia and sees large growth ahead, but he was no longer willing to keep the high-growth software valuations in reference to justify ever higher price targets. The 52-week trading range is $147.06 to $380.00, and the consensus price target is $385.12. Nvidia stock was last seen down about 3% at $354.91.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $102 target price. As noted by others, Qualcomm is believed to have the highest-end 5G chipsets. It had a $91.12 prior consensus target price. Shares closed Monday at $86.39, within a 52-week range of $58.00 to $96.17. Qualcomm stock was last seen up about 3% at $88.96 in Tuesday morning trading, with a consensus price target of $91.12.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $334 price target. Shares closed Monday at $289.99, in a 52-week range of $174.43 to $344.32. The shares were recently trading up nearly 4% at $300.64, with a consensus price target of $304.43.

Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $108 from $90. It closed Monday at $90.63 a share, in a 52-week range of $67.68 to $133.00. Xilinx stock recently traded up about 3% at $93.59, and its consensus price target was $95.90.

Equal Weight (as in Hold or Neutral elsewhere):

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was maintained as Equal Weight but its price target was raised to $63 from $52 (versus a $49.24 close). The consensus target price was $61.87 ahead of the call. Micron was up about 2.8% at $60.65 on Tuesday, with a 52-week range of $31.13 to $61.19.

Marvell Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) was maintained as Equal Weight, but Moore raised his target to $36 from $33.50. Shares closed Monday at $34.39, in a 52-week range of $16.45 to $36.92. Marvell stock traded relatively flat early Tuesday at $34.36. Its consensus analyst target is $34.43.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) was reiterated as Equal Weight but the price target was still raised to $60 from $42.50. It closed Monday at $57.05, within a 52-week range of $36.64 to $69.44. Applied Materials stock was last seen up about 3% at $58.72 in Tuesday’s session, and its consensus price target is $68.18.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was maintained as Equal Weight and its price target was raised to $124 from $90. The stock closed on Monday at $127.24. It has a 52-week range of $67.90 to $138.22, and the stock was last seen up about 1% at $128.71. The consensus price target is $117.65.

Underweight (or Sell elsewhere):

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) was maintained as Underweight but its price target was raised to $108 from $94 in the call. Its shares closed at $124.23 on Monday, and it was up another 1.8% at $126.50 on Tuesday with a strong market day. Texas Instruments has a 52-week range of $93.09 to $135.70, and its consensus price target was $119.68.

ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ON) was maintained as Underweight, but Moore raised his target to $14 from $12. Shares at $19.56 on Monday and were up 1.4% at $19.83 heading into Tuesday’s midday trading. They have a consensus target of $19.05 and a 52-week trading range of $8.17 to $25.92.

The post There Are Much Better Chip Stocks to Buy Now Than AMD, Intel, Micron or Nvidia appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures trended higher Monday, after another rollercoaster trading day on Friday. All the major indexes made massive back and forth moves after the nonfarm payrolls shocked many across Wall Street, who expected the Omicron surge to shut down hiring. The major indexes ended higher, except for a tiny loss for the Dow Jones industrials.

The Treasury bond market saw another day of big selling as yields across the curve went higher, with both the 5-year and 10-year notes ending at the highest yields in a year. Oil continued its move higher with both West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude closing well over the $90 level. The consumer price index reading for January on Thursday will be this week’s biggest datapoint, with a forecast of 7.3%, versus December’s 7.0%.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, February 7, 2022.

Bill.com Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BILL): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating but slashed the target price on the shares to $285 from $370. Evercore ISI reiterated an In Line rating and lowered its price target from $300 all the way to $200. BMO Capital Markets kept an Outperform rating and raised its price target to $258 from $209. The consensus target is $306.63. The stock closed up over 36% on Friday, at $231.67, after the company predicted a very positive fiscal-year revenue outlook.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BJ): Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of the popular retailer to Buy from Hold and lifted the target price to $74 from $69. The consensus price objective is $75.89, and the shares closed Friday at $59.85.

Buzzfeed Inc. (NASDAQ: BZFD): BofA Securities started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $5 target. The consensus target is $7.25. The shares closed Friday at $4.47, up over 5% on the day.

Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI): Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the health care heavyweight to Hold from Buy and dropped the price objective to $236 from $260. That compares with the $265.56 consensus price target and Friday’s closing print of $221.37.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP): Raymond James reiterated a Strong Buy rating on the integrated energy giant and lifted the price objective to $120 from $107. Truist maintained a Buy rating and raised the target price to $115 from $11, while Wells Fargo kept an Overweight rating and hiked its $95 target to $114. The stock has a $97.51 consensus target, and the stock closed on Friday at $91.87.

Deckers Outdoors Inc. (NYSE: DECK): Cowen reiterated an Outperform rating but slashed the $478 price objective to $358. Jefferies maintained a Buy rating and dropped the price target on the popular boots and clothing retailer to $450 from $525. BTIG Research reiterated a Buy rating, and it bumped up the $480 target price up to $487. The consensus target is $474.23. The final trade last Friday was at $303.71 a share, which was down almost 6% for the day.

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Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT): Barclays reiterated an Equal Weight rating and increased the target price to $364 from $355. UBS kept a Neutral rating and lowered its target to $340 from $370, while Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and dropped the price objective to $350 from $400. The consensus target is $367.14. Friday’s closing share price of $314.33 was up close to 6% for the day.

GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLB): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $90 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $119.67. The last trade on Friday was reported at $72.40, up a stunning 17% after some indicated a major short squeeze boosted the shares.

Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the chocolate and confection giant and bumped the $221 target price to $227, while Credit Suisse stayed with an Outperform rating and lifted the target to $227 from $214. The consensus target is $210.30. The stock closed on Friday at $202.78 a share.

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5 Sizzling Well-Known Buy-Rated Stocks Under $10 With Big Upside Potential

ManTech International Corp. (NASDAQ: MANT): BofA Securities raised the stock to Buy from Underperform and has a $90 price target. The consensus target is $81.43. The shares had a massive day on Friday, closing up almost 10% at $80.73, and it tacked on an additional 13% in afterhours trading. Reports indicated co-founder George Perderson is looking into options for his controlling stake in the company, which could include a sale.

McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK): Deutsche Bank downgraded the medical products and services giant to Hold from Buy but lifted the target price to $270 from $262. The consensus target is $289.73, and the shares closed on Friday at $265.86.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP): Stifel reiterated a Hold rating on the stock and slightly raised the price target to $84 from $82. UBS kept a Buy rating and boosted their target on the shares to $98 from $92, while Citigroup kept a Neutral rating and sliced the price objective to $$78 from $90. The consensus target is $98, and the share closed out Friday trading at $73.18.

Paylocity Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: PCTY): Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and raised the target price to $249 from $244. The consensus target is up at $268.21. The shares were last seen on Friday at $217, up 10% after posting stellar earnings and revenues that beat estimates.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE): Zacks has selected this as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst says that the dividend yield of 3% is just one reason it is a top stock pick. The shares most recently closed at $53.00 and have a consensus price target of $60.76.

SkyWest Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW): Raymond James downgraded the stock to Outperform from Strong Buy and cut the target price to $48 from $63. Deutsche Bank lowered its Buy rating to Hold and slashed the price target to $39 from $65. The consensus target is $60.00. The last trade for Friday was posted at $29.47, down an incredible 23% even though earnings and revenues beat estimates.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): UBS kept a Neutral rating on the stock while cutting its price target to $145 from $180. Cowen reiterated a Buy rating but dropped its target to $175 from $210, while Mizuho maintained a Buy rating and lowered the $218 price target to $210. The consensus target is $202.58. Shares closed on Friday at $135.10.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP): The RBC Capital Markets downgrade to Sector Perform from Outperform included a target price cut to $40 from $54. Jefferies kept a Buy rating and lifted the $55 target price to $60. Stifel also reiterated a Buy rating, and it raised the target to $50 from $45. The consensus target is $61.94. The stock had a huge day Friday, closing at $38.91, up close to 60%, after posting outstanding results and metrics.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight and lifted the target price to $390 from $344. The consensus target is $383.65. The stock closed Friday’s session at $275.72, almost 8% higher for the day. Shares were up almost 5% in premarket trading.

VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE: VICI): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $32 price target for the triple net lease gaming real estate investment trust. The consensus target is $36.01. The final trade Friday was at $28.14.

Wipro Ltd. (NYSE: WIT): While Jefferies upgraded the shares to Hold from Underperform, it also lowered the target price to $7.70 from $8.50. The consensus target is $8.39. The stock closed at $7.60 on Friday.

Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Agnico-Eagle Mines, Biogen, Exelon, Meta Platforms, New York Times, PulteGroup, Snap and Vertex Pharmaceutical. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Amazon.com, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Penn National Gaming, Pinterest and more.

The post Monday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Cigna, ConocoPhillips, Fortinet, Microchip Technology, Pfizer, Snap, Snowflake, VICI Properties and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were indicated marginally higher on Friday, but the direction of the day seems far from set in stone. The trend of endlessly buying the dips has not worked as well as it has in prior years. Now is a time when all investors should be considering how they want their investments positioned for the longer term.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy and some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional color and commentary have been added on most of the daily analyst reports. The consensus analyst price targets mentioned and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Friday, May 18, 2018.

Adverum Biotechnologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ADVM) was started as Overweight and assigned a $60 price target at Piper Jaffray. This is only a $373 million market cap stock, but it still represents right at 100% in implied upside from the $6.00 prior close (after a 2.4% drop), and the analyst’s target compares with a consensus target price of $10.00.

Aimmune Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AIMT) was started as Overweight and assigned a $60 price target at Piper Jaffray. That call actually represents almost 100% upside from the $30.01 close, compared to a consensus target price of $60. Aimmune has been volatile over the past year, as its 52-week trading range is $15.97 to $42.00.

Alpine Immune Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ALPN) was started as Outperform with a $13 target price (versus an $8.12 close) at Wedbush Securities. Alpine is seen as leveraging a directed evolution approach to create multi-functional protein-based therapeutics that it believes could potentially modulate the immune synapse more effectively than conventional immunotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune/inflammatory diseases.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) was started as Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Bemis Co. (NYSE: BMS) was started as Hold at Jefferies.

Berry Global Group Inc. (NYSE: BERY) was started as Buy and assigned a $67 price target (versus a $47.53 close) at Jefferies. The consensus target is $67.85, and the 52-week range is $47.30 to $61.71.

Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE: BRX) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $17.50 price target (versus a $14.26 close) at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week range is $13.74 to $20.59, and the consensus target price is $18.20.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $26 price target (versus a $27.33 close, after a 5% gain) at Jefferies. Carrizo has a 52-week range of $11.10 to $128.05 and a consensus target price of $26.18.

Coupa Software Inc. (NASDAQ: COUP) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $51 price target (versus a $51.48 close) at Barclays.

Companhia de Saneamento Basico (NYSE: SBS), or Sabesp, for water and waste management in Sao Paolo (Brazil), was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

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Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: EEP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $10 price target at UBS. It closed at $10.29 on Thursday, after a 2.1% rise.

Five Prime Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FPRX) was started as Neutral with a $17 price target (versus an $18.56 close) at Wedbush. Although the analyst sees limited downside at these levels, it also believes the stock as fully valued at present levels.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was started with a Neutral rating and assigned a $205 price target (versus a $191.20 close) at UBS. Despite the rating, this is actually above the prior consensus price target of $196.09.

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $42 price target (versus a $36.25 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Noble Energy has a 52-week range of $22.99 to $36.53 and a consensus target price of $40.74.

PayPal Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $90 price target (versus a $79.19 close) at UBS. Just a day earlier and before a small acquisition, its target had been raised to $100 in a call from Instinet.

Planet Fitness Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform with a $40 price target (versus a $40.90 close) at Imperial Capital.

Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE) was started as Buy and assigned a $53 price target (versus a $43.57 close) at Jefferies.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. Shares closed up 0.9% at $99.71 on Thursday but were indicated down almost 1.5% at $98.25 on Friday. Skyworks has a consensus target price is $114.63, and its 52-week range of $86.13 to $117.65.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) was started as Strong Buy with a $190 price target (versus a $158.76 close, after a 1.6% drop) at Raymond James. Spotify has a post-IPO trading range of $135.51 to $171.23 and a consensus target price of $155.48.

Telecom Italia SpA (NYSE: TI) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Berenberg.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was started with a Neutral rating and assigned a $141 price target (versus a $129.95 close) at UBS. Despite the Neutral rating, this is a tad higher than the $140.15 consensus price target.

Jefferies may currently be the most bullish on oil and gas prospects.

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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AIG, Baxter, Cisco, Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Energy Transfer Equity, Juniper Networks, National Oilwell Varco, Phillips 66, Valero Energy and many more.

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Stocks surged higher after Friday’s very strong payrolls and unemployment report, but Monday looked directionless with S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average futures down less than 0.1% each. Investors are starting to see upside targets issued for 2020, and everyone who was dead set on their recession calls in recent months is now trying to figure out where to go next. There are still many pressing issues and risks to consider now that the bull market is over 10 and a half years old. This is a time for investors to consider what changes they should be making for their portfolios and assets as 2019 winds down and as 2020 approaches.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while some calls cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

We have provided these calls in a quick-hit summary for easy reading, and additional comments and trading data have been added on some of the calls. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations for Monday, December 9, 2019.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $410 from $340 at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed up 1% at $306.23, in a 52-week range of $204.95 to $313.11. The consensus price target is $317.62.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. Shares closed up 1.4% at $118.01, in a 52-week range of $100.22 to $127.34. The consensus price target is $136.84.

Delek US Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DK) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $59 target price at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Shares closed up 2.4% at $53.22, in a 52-week range of $40.44 to $60.52. The consensus price target is $55.81.

Fortive Corp. (NYSE: FTV) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $84 from $76 at Citigroup.

Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ: GH) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this cancer diagnostics provider just delivered 181% revenue growth and 18,500 tests to patients and labs. Shares most recently closed at $73.98, with a consensus price target of $115.80.

JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ: JD) was started with a Buy rating and a $40 target price at HSBC Securities.

Kraton Corp. (NYSE: KRA) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $31 target price at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was reiterated as Buy and the price objective was raised to $268 from $230 at Merrill Lynch. Shares closed down 0.6% at $229.38, in a 52-week range of $110.71 to $233.12. The consensus price target is $225.15.

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. Shares closed up 4.3% at $171.47, in a 52-week range of $150.58 to $219.75. The consensus price target is $170.63.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. Shares closed up 0.3% at $15.15, in a 52-week range of $14.11 to $32.83. The consensus price target is $15.43.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. Shares closed up 0.6% at $60.20, in a 52-week range of $43.96 to $69.65. The consensus price target is $81.00.

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O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) was started as Neutral with an $18 target price at Goldman Sachs. Shares closed up 1.7% at $17.30, in a 52-week range of $16.77 to $25.27. The consensus price target is $25.21.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) was maintained as Outperform with a $155 price target at RBC Capital Markets, but the firm did remove it from the Top Picks list as its price target has more or less been achieved.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO) was raised to Buy from Underperform in a two-notch upgrade at Merrill Lynch, and the firm set a $130 price objective. Shares closed up 0.8% at $106.62, in a 52-week range of $54.74 to $107.57. The consensus price target is $95.90.

RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: RGCO) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $32 from $30 (versus a $29.33 prior close) at Janney.

RH (NYSE: RH) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $275 from $200 at Guggenheim.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) was reiterated as Buy and the price objective was raised to $198 from $187 at Merrill Lynch.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was raised to Buy from Underperform in a two-notch upgrade at Merrill Lynch, and the firm set a $122 price objective.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Longbow Research. Shares closed up 2.0% at $35.10, in a 52-week range of $25.03 to $39.35. The consensus price target is $34.18.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $53 target price at UBS. Shares closed up 3.7% at $35.53, in a 52-week range of $16.61 to $35.63. The consensus price target is $31.89.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) was started with an Overweight rating and a $22 target price at Morgan Stanley.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) was reiterated as Buy with a $140 target price at Goldman Sachs.

Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) was started as Neutral with a $46 target price at Citigroup.

Way beyond ten baggers: Here are 10 large-cap stocks that have risen by 1,000% to 4,000% over the past decade.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Anthem, Ciena, Dollar General, Encana, Lennar, Lululemon Athletica, Sage Therapeutics, Target, Tesla, Trade Desk, Yext and many more.

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The futures traded higher on Wednesday after investors watched once again as all three of the major indexes and the Russell 2000 printed a fresh round of intraday all-time highs, with two closing yesterday at all-time highs. Investors are cheering the possibility that a big stimulus package becoming a reality and fourth-quarter earnings that have continued to come in very strong. Top analysts on Wall Street continue to point to “bubble” metrics, like the massive retail stock and options trading, huge hedge fund leverage and IPOs that don’t make money as examples, and many are urging caution.

With fourth-quarter earnings results still coming in, most across Wall Street are not only examining the results but looking to see what guidance for the first quarter and the rest of 2021 looks like. With the markets pushing back to all-time highs last week, it makes sense for investors to start building some cash reserves while repositioning portfolios for the rest of 2021.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which lowered the price target $117. That compares with the higher $127 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $117.97. Shares were down over 7% in premarket trading despite an earnings beat.

Avaya Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: AVYA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Northland Capital, which raised the price target to $30. The consensus target is $24.89. The stock was last seen on Tuesday trading at $29.17, up almost 13% after posting strong earnings.

ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXO) was started with a Buy rating and a $100 price target at H.C. Wainwright. The consensus target $91.40. The shares closed Tuesday at $82.18, down almost 3% on the day.

Canopy Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: CGC) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Canaccord Genuity. The 52-week trading range for the marijuana company is $9.00 to $50.92, and no consensus price target was available. The last trade on Tuesday hit the tape at $49.09, up 12% for the day. The shares followed through in the premarket, up an additional 7% as the entire sector is on fire.

Catalyst Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: CBIO) was started with an Overweight rating and a $15 price target at Piper Sandler. The higher consensus target is $19.75, and Tuesday’s final trade came in at $6.62, which was up almost 13% on the day. The shares were up an additional 7% in the premarket.

Chuy’s Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUY) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $7.28 to $43.35 and has a $33.63 consensus target price. The last trade for Tuesday was at $40.49, after retreating almost 5% on the day.

Corsair Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: CRSR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, though it raised the price target to $44. The $42.22 consensus target is less than Tuesday’s close at $44.70. Shares pulled back almost 3% despite the gaming products company posting solid numbers that beat expectations and raising guidance.

Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CRVS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho, which lowered the price target to $4. That compares with the $9.20 consensus target and Tuesday’s $4.77 close, which was up almost 12% on the day. The stock was down just over 3% in premarket trading.

Hain Celestial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN) was raised from Neutral to Overweight with a $50 price target at Piper Sandler. The consensus target is $42.83, and Tuesday’s closing price was $42.34. The shares were up almost 3% in the premarket after a solid earnings report.

Leggett & Platt Inc. (NYSE: LEG) was downgraded from Strong Buy to Outperform with a $48 price target at Raymond James. The consensus target price is $46.75. The last trade on Tuesday was reported at $43.03.

Lithia Motors Inc. (NYSE: LAD) was downgraded at Morgan Stanley from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $310 price target. That compares with a much higher consensus target of $368.40 and Tuesday’s closing price of $390.85.

Masco Corp. (NYSE: MAS) was downgraded from Buy to Hold with a $61 price objective at Loop Capital. The consensus target is $65.87, and Tuesday’s closing price was $56.29 a share.

Mesa Air Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MESA) was raised at Deutsche Bank from Hold to Buy with a $10 price target. The consensus target for the regional carrier is $7.00, and the shares were last seen Tuesday at $7.44.

Model N Inc. (NASDAQ: MODL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan, which raised the price target to $40. BTIG Research upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral with a $60 price target. The consensus target is $41.63. The closed at $40.73 on Tuesday. The shares were up a whopping 15% in premarket action on the heels of a strong earnings report.

Open Lending Corp. (NASDAQ: LPRO) was started with a Buy rating and a $50 target at Needham. The consensus target is $41.60, and the last trade for Tuesday came in at $40.74.

Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: PLTK) was started at Wedbush with an Outperform rating and a $42 target. Cowen also initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $42 price target. No consensus target was available as this was a recent very hot initial public offering. The stock rose over 6% on Tuesday to close at $34.28.

Qualys Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) was downgraded at Morgan Stanley from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $110 price target. The consensus target is $113.50, and shares close most recently at $129.78.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this company’s cutting-edge chip technology is critical for the ushering out of 5G devices, and this past quarterly report really illustrated the vitality of this enterprise. Shares most recently closed at $182.91 and have a consensus price target of $198.96.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, which raised the target price to $52. The consensus target is $30.67. The stock closed on Tuesday at $56.72.

Jefferies favors three stocks in what it calls the digital gaming matrix. They are Buy rated at the firm and all make sense for aggressive growth investors looking to invest in this massive and fast-growing digital gaming and fantasy sports arena.

Note that short sellers bought into FAANG stocks Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet in the most recent period.

Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Bilibili, Constellation Brands, FedEx, Harley-Davidson, Matador Resources, Twilio and Yandex. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Baidu, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Dollar General, Ford and more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Akamai, Avaya, Canopy Growth, Corsair Gaming, Playtika, Virgin Galactic and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

February 6, 2019: The S&P 500 closed down 0.2% at 2,731.68. The DJIA closed flat at 25,391.32. Separately, the Nasdaq closed down 0.4% at 7,375.28.

Wednesday was a down day for the broad U.S. markets. This small pullback that we’re seeing seems to affirm the rally that is currently underway. Although this is the first down day of the trading week, investors still seem optimistic going forward. The S&P 500 sectors were mostly negative. The most positive sectors were technology and health care up 0.4% each. The worst performing sectors were real estate and energy, down 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.

Crude oil was last seen up 0.5% at $53.95.

Gold was last seen trading down 0.6% at $1,310.70.

The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close was Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) which traded down over 13% at $92.53. The stock’s 52-week range is $91.49 to $139.91. Volume was 18.8 million compared to the daily average volume of 2.7 million.

The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close was Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) which rose by over 11% to $84.69. The stock’s 52-week range is $60.12 to $115.98. Volume was about 9 million compared to the daily average volume of 2.4 million.

The post Wednesday’s Biggest Winners and Losers in the S&P 500 appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks hit new all-time highs last week, but Monday’s indications suggested a breather on a lack of any solid news. Investors still have a lot of pressing issues and risks to consider now that the bull market is over 10 and a half years old. This is a time for investors to consider what changes they should be making for their portfolios and assets heading into late 2019 and as 2020 approaches.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or stocks to avoid.

We have provided these calls in a quick-hit summary for easy reading, and additional comments and trading data have been added on some of the calls. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations for Monday, November 11, 2019.

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACRX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and its target price was slashed to $2 from $7 (versus a $1.94 prior close) at Credit Suisse.

Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $80 from $76 (versus a $71.17 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) was raised to Outperform from Perform and it was given a $145 target price (versus a $124.56 close) at Oppenheimer. Baidu has seen multiple analyst upgrades and target price hikes in recent days.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral and its target was raised to $55 from $46 at UBS, with the firm talking up how interest rates have normalized and that will stabilize its net interest income in custodial assets at the same time it focuses on its costs.

BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Janney.

BellRing Brands Inc. (NYSE: BRBR) was started as Overweight with a $21 target at JPMorgan, started as Outperform with a $23 target at Wells Fargo and was started as Outperform with a $21 target at Credit Suisse. Merrill Lynch started it with a Neutral rating and a $19 price objective. Barclays started it as Overweight with a $22 target price, and Goldman Sachs started it as Buy with a $24 target price.

Cementos Pacasmayo SAA (NYSE: CPAC) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral with an $8.50 target price (versus a $9.57 close, after a 1.96% drop) at JPMorgan.

Chegg Inc. (NYSE: CHGG) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the stock has surged over 15% since it posted stronger-than-projected third-quarter results. Shares most recently closed at $34.05, with a consensus price target of $43.68.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRW) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day. The firm said that this stock tumbled roughly 15% since the most recent results were posted on October 29. Shares last closed at $78.06, with a consensus price target of $81.12.

Chewy Inc. (NYSE: CHWY) was started with an Outperform rating Credit Suisse. The firm sees the online retailer of pet products as well-positioned in an already strong pet care industry. Shares closed up two cents at $22.99 ahead of the call, with a consensus target price of $36.80.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray. The firm noted that slower macro trends in Cisco’s markets are hurting it at the same time it sees a lack of near-term catalysts supporting its stock.

Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer. The stock closed up 3% at $10.32 on Friday, but this was a $135 stock last week ahead of the online travel site earnings.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) was raised to Neutral from Sell and its target price was raised to $18 from $13 (versus a $17.43 close) at UBS.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Edward Jones. The valuation downgrade had shares indicated down about 0.8% at $231.00, after a $232.84 prior close, and the consensus target price was $234.18.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was maintained as Hold but the target price was raised to $190 from $160 (versus a $207.78 close) at Deutsche Bank.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $36 target price (versus a $40.10 close) at Tudor Pickering. It was indicated down almost 2% at $39.35 on Monday, and its consensus target price was $52.02.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight with a $26 target price (versus a $26.48 close) at Barclays.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was given a valuation downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $90 target price at Morgan Stanley. Qualcomm closed up 4.5% at $94.03 on Friday and was indicated down about 2.2% at $92.00 on Monday. Its prior consensus target price was $88.44.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was reiterated as Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, but the firm raised its target price to $97 from $78 in the call. Shares closed up 1.8% at $100.44 ahead of the call and had a prior consensus target price of $87.52.

Smartsheet Inc. (NYSE: SMAR) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the target price was slashed to $42 from $62 (versus a $39.75 close) at Wedbush Securities. The firm was cautious about intensifying competition, with attendant risk and short tenures in its sales organization.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was reiterated as Outperform with a $153 target price (versus a $125.03 close) at Wedbush. The firm was positive into its report, citing recent product launches, price changes that are viewed as win-win for it and customers, and ongoing market leadership with its data-to-everything platform.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $400 from $300 at Jefferies, with the firm saying that its gross margin levels are consistent to generate sustained profitability. Tesla closed at $337.14 on Friday.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $106 from $103 (versus a $93.44 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Wright Medical Group N.V. (NASDAQ: WMGI) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform but the target was raised to $31 from $28 (versus a $29.43 close) at Robert W. Baird.

Some top strategists on Wall Street are leaning towards a resurgence of value over growth stocks in 2020. Merrill Lynch has three top US 1 list picks that could be great plays on the value theme.

Stifel has five energy stocks under $10 that could have significant upside to its target prices.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Beyond Meat, Costco, Disney, Gap, Hecla Mining, Qualcomm, Slack, Teradata, Walmart, Zillow and many more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Baidu, BellRing, Chegg, Chewy, Cisco, Expedia, Home Depot, Nvidia, Occidental, Qualcomm, Tesla and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures were trading higher on Wednesday, as Wall Street prepares for the producer price index readings. Tuesday, it looked for a fleeting moment that all the carnage of the past four trading days was over, but a midday rally turned negative in the last hour of trading and only the Dow Jones industrials closed the day higher. The Nasdaq once again led the losers, closing down 1.1%. There was a sense from the financial press and some of the (always bullish) media pundits that the bear market is closer to the end than the beginning, and that if the consumer price index numbers show a bigger than expected decline, then November’s 75-basis-point rate increase could be trimmed back to 50 basis points.

In addition, ARK funds founder Cathie Wood wrote an open letter to Chairman Powell and the Federal Reserve Governors stating that their policies are risking an “economic bust.” With Wall Street expectations calling for an 8.1% year-over-year increase on Thursday, any print for the CPI well below the 8% level could possibly get them to tap the brakes some. A higher number? Look out below.

The Treasury market reopened Tuesday after the Columbus Day holiday and rates were modestly higher across the curve. The benchmark 10-year note looked like it was trading back to the 4% level before buyers stepped, and the final trade came in at 3.94%. That keeps the inversion to the two-year note in place, as it closed at 4.31%. Bond traders view the inversion as a recession indicator.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed lower after a big run over the past week. The two benchmarks each closed down close to 3%. Natural gas was a big winner on the day, closing up close to 3%. Gold closed higher on the day, while Bitcoin closed slightly lower.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, October 12, 2022.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Credit Suisse reiterated an Outperform rating on the search leader while trimming the $140 target price to $134. The consensus target is $141.94. The last trade for Tuesday was reported at $97.18.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI): Cowen started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $180 target price. The consensus target is $193.73. The stock ended Tuesday’s session trading at $138.80.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Barclays reiterated an Equal Weight rating on the technology giant while cutting its $169 target price to $155. The consensus target is $183.16. The shares closed on Tuesday at $138.98.

24/7 Wall St.
8 Goldman Sachs Conviction List Dividend Stocks May Be the Safest Q4 Plays Now

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): Wells Fargo starts coverage with an Overweight rating and a $120 price target. The higher consensus target is $139.80, and Tuesday’s closing share price was $82.72.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): RBC Capital Markets reiterated an Outperform rating on the pizza favorite while trimming the $460 target price to $430. The consensus target is $404.62. The last trade was delivered on Tuesday at $303.50.

Dynatrace Inc. (NYSE: DT): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $45 target price. The consensus target is $49. Tuesday’s close was at $34.25.

General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD): Wolfe Research started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $265 target price. The consensus target is $263.00. Shares closed on Tuesday at $227.54.

Getty Images Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GETY): Benchmark lifted its Hold rating to Buy with a $9 target price. The consensus target is up at $16.42. The stock closed almost 8% higher on Tuesday at $6.76.

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ): The Zacks Bear of the Day stock is trading at 2022 lows, points out the analyst. Shares have traded as high as $41.47 in the past year but closed most recently at $24.78. That is down more than 34% year to date.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): Piper Sandler upgraded the popular yoga apparel and products stock to Overweight from Neutral. It also raised its $320 price target to $350. The consensus target is higher at $384.48. Tuesday’s close at $295.68 was up 2% on the day.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP): Wedbush started coverage on the beverage and snack giant with an Outperform rating and a $185 target price. The consensus target is $182.08. The shares were last seen Tuesday trading at $162.59.

Rapid7 Inc. (NASDAQ: RPD): Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $60 price target. The consensus target is $83.64. The shares closed on Tuesday at $41.25, up close to 4% on the day.

Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX): Barclays initiated coverage with an Underweight rating and a $20 price target. The consensus target is higher at $43.40. The last trade for Tuesday was reported at $34.56.
Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG): Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to Hold from Sell and raised the $34 target price to $38. The consensus target is up at $46.93. The stock almost 3% higher on Tuesday at $41.92.

Skyworks Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): Wells Fargo’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight included a price target cut from $130 to $95. The consensus target is $132.38. Tuesday’s close at $81.16 was down over 3% for the day.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP): Credit Suisse reiterated an Outperform rating and lowered the target price to $22 from $29. The consensus target is $15.64. The stock closed on Tuesday at $10.31.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $95 price target. The consensus target is up at $129.39. The shares closed on Tuesday at $70.17.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR): As BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Underperform from Neutral, it dropped its $22 target price to $18. The consensus target is $22.87. The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $20.31, down over 5% for the day.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING): Zacks named this its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst makes the case that a deflationary product might help this stock fly the coop to new highs. The shares last closed at $126.32, which is up more than 40% in the past 90 days.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM): Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and cut its $130 target price to $90. The consensus target is $104.57, and shares closed on Tuesday at $73.71.

Given the teetering market and a sputtering economy, the best ideas for nervous investors now are the safest. Eight Goldman Sachs Conviction List stock picks are dividend-paying blue chips with reasonable upside potential.

See which powerful people in the financial world believe the market could drop another 20%.

Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American International Group, APA, Etsy, Goldman Sachs, Howmet Aerospace, Morgan Stanley, Wayfair, Welltower, Wendy’s and Workday. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Amgen, Blackstone, Ciena, Marvell Technology, Meta Platforms, Qorvo, ServiceNow, Rackspace Technology and more.

The post Wednesday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alphabet, Apple, Boeing, HP, Netflix, PepsiCo, Snap, SunPower, Texas Instruments, Zoom Video and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures were mixed on Friday, and investors and traders will be more than happy to put this wacky week behind them. All the major indexes once again were pounded lower early on Thursday but reversed late morning to close higher. The culprit initially was the European Central Bank, which surprised Wall Street and the rest of the world by raising interest rates by 50 basis points. Many expected 25 basis points or perhaps even a pause, with the ongoing issues at Credit Suisse, which was tossed a $53 billion lifeline loan from the Swiss Central Bank. Many now feel that the ECB increase could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to continue hiking at the end of March.

Treasury yields were all over the place, as some investors continued to seek security in the safe haven trade of government debt while others sold bonds and took some solid gains on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year note rose nine basis points to close the day at 3.59%, which is still the lowest since early September. The short two-year note closed the day at 4.23%. While the inversion between the two securities has narrowed dramatically over the past few weeks, the anomaly still signals a recession is on the way.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate rallied off lows posted early Thursday, and both of the benchmarks ended only modestly lower, after being down 2% and trading at the lowest levels since September of 2021. This came despite oil production falling in January and Goldman Sachs lifting the firm’s outlook for China’s economic growth this year. Natural gas also closed flat on the day.

Investors continued to charge into gold, as they have for the entire week as the potential for systemic banking issues continues to loom. The bullion closed Thursday up $11.90 to finish the trading day at $1,931. Bitcoin continued a wild roller-coaster week, up 2.3% to close at $24,935. Strategists continue to point to the ongoing banking crisis as the tailwind from the cryptocurrency giant.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on St. Patrick’s Day, Friday, March 17, 2023.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $400 target price. The consensus target is $387.29. The shares closed on Thursday at $353.29, which was up close to 6% on the day after solid numbers for the quarter beat analysts’ estimates.

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The 5 Highest-Yielding Nasdaq Stocks Could Rip Higher With a Spring Break Rally

Circor International Inc. (NYSE: CIR): Stifel raised its target price on the Buy-rated shares to $40 from $30. The consensus target is $34. Thursday’s close at $30.91 was a one-day gain of 15% after solid results.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C): Jefferies reiterated a Hold rating with a $45 target price. The consensus target is $58.32. The stock closed on Thursday at $45.62.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX): Stifel upgraded the delivery giant to Buy from Hold, and its price target jumped to $222 from $171. The consensus target is $209.81. Thursday’s $204.05 close was up almost 5% on the day after strong quarterly results.

Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE): Goldman Sachs raised its $187 price target all the way to $209. The consensus target is $215.05. The stock closed on Thursday at $195.33.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL): Telsey Advisory upgraded the retailer to Outperform from Market Perform. Its $39 target price rose to $50, above the $42.63 consensus target. The stock ended Thursday’s session at $42.70, up over 4% on the day. The company will report earnings next week.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): When Susquehanna upgraded the legacy chip giant to Neutral from Negative, its target price increased to $26 from $23. The consensus target is $27.37. The shares closed over 6% higher on Thursday at $30.18, as all of the top chip stocks rallied.

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE: JLL): Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to Outperform from Peer Perform. Its $218 target price is well above the consensus target of $201.33. The stock closed on Thursday at $148.88.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): Redburn initiated coverage with a Sell rating and a $257 target price. The consensus target is up at $377.27, and the stock closed on Thursday at $297.40.
Medical Properties Trust Inc. (NYSE: MPW): The BofA Securities downgrade was from Buy to Neutral with a $10 target price. The consensus target is $13.92. The stock closed on Thursday at $8.01.

Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI): J.P. Morgan’s upgrade to Overweight from Neutral included a target price bump to $305 from $300. The consensus target is $291.89. The shares ended Thursday trading at $268.58.

NerdWallet Inc. (NASDAQ: NRDS): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $21 target price. The consensus target is $20.71. The shares were last seen on Thursday trading at $16.81.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) Redburn initiated coverage with a Sell rating and a $100 target price. The consensus target is $129.88. The shares closed on Thursday at $120.65.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM): Susquehanna upgraded the stock to Positive from Neutral. The analyst raised the $110 target price to $135, while the consensus target is up at $152.23. The stock closed Thursday at $120.51, which was a gain of over 4% on the day.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TAK): BofA Securities upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $20 target price. The consensus target is $20.92. The stock closed on Thursday at $16.44.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA): Redburn initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $13.50 target. The consensus target is $12.63. The shares closed on Thursday at $8.58.

Given that the Nasdaq has only twice had two down years in a row, the five highest-yielding stocks in the index offer a contrarian angle for 2023 for growth and income investors looking for a way forward on what could be a rocky road.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Azul, Charles Schwab, Comerica, Darden Restaurants, Harley-Davidson, KeyCorp, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix and Truist Financial.

The post Friday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Adobe, Citigroup, FedEx, Foot Locker, Intel, Nike, Qualcomm, Under Armour and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures traded decidedly mixed on Tuesday following a wild Monday that saw stocks moving up and down and in and out of the red almost all day. While new COVID-19 strains in England worried investors, a fifth coronavirus stimulus bill (with $600 checks that could be in bank accounts as early as next week and additional unemployment payments through March 14) provided some support. Investors should be reviewing portfolios and adjusting positioning for 2021.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, December 22, 2020.

Alliant Energy Corp. (NYSE: LNT) was started with a Market Perform rating and a $54 price target at BMO Capital Markets. The consensus target price is $59.88, and the final trade on Monday was posted at $50.34.

Champion X Corp. (NYSE: CHX) was started with a Buy rating and a $21 price target at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target is $16.85. The shares closed Monday at $13.78 but were up close to 6% in premarket action.

Chubb Ltd. (NYSE: CB) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA Securities, which did raise the price target on the insurance giant to $138. That is below the $158.89 consensus and Monday’s closing print of $151.75.

FuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO) saw its target price at Needham raised to $60 from $30. That compares with the $31.64 consensus target. The stock closed Monday at $49.48, up a stunning 26% on the day. The rally continued in Tuesday’s premarket, tacking on an additional 17% gain.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Longbow. The 52-week trading range for the legacy hotel company is $24.02 to $94.98, and the consensus price objective is $59.71. The shares were last seen trading at $72.35.

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, which also raised the price target to $415. The consensus target is $311.06. The last trade on Monday was reported at $362.63.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm ponders whether falling estimates will finally stop its bull run. Shares last closed at $375.93 and have a consensus price target of $403.12.

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Goldman Sachs Has 5 Red-Hot Semiconductor Stocks to Buy for 2021

Lightspeed POS Inc. (NYSE: LSPD) was started with an Overweight rating and a $42 price objective at Cantor Fitzgerald. A consensus target was not available, and the final trade Monday was posted at $60.92.

MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) was raised to Buy from Hold at Santander. The 52-week trading range for the South America–based online commerce giant is $422.22 to $1727.97, and the consensus price target is $1420.73. Monday’s final trade was reported at $1697.89.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) was raised from Hold to Buy with a $135 price target at Truist Securities. That compares with a $131.61 consensus target and Monday’s close at $110.89.

Real Real Inc. (NASDAQ: REAL) was started at Baird with an Outperform rating and a $23 price target. The consensus target is $17.96. The last trade hit the tape at $19.55 on Monday, and shares were up almost 4% in Tuesday’s premarket.

Rent-A-Center Inc. (NASDAQ: RCII) was raised from Hold to Buy with a $50 price objective at Loop Capital. The consensus target is $39.50, and Monday’s closing trade was $39.24.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI) was resumed in coverage at Deutsche Bank, which as a Hold rating and a $30 price target. The consensus target is $23.25. The final Monday trade came in at $27.80.

Skyworks Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) saw its target price raised at Cowen to $185 from $169. That compares to a $160.08 consensus target and Monday’s $147.71 closing print.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NYSE: STLD) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the recent pullback in this hot sector is a steal. Shares most recently closed at $36.95 and have a consensus price target of $38.45.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $140 price target at Oppenheimer. The consensus target is $150.65. The stock closed most recently at $130.22.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NASDAQ: TDOC) was started with an In-line rating at Evercore ISI, which also has a $215 price objective. The consensus target is up at $243.85. Monday’s close was $199.75 a share.

UTZ Brands Inc. (NYSE: UTZ) was started at Goldman Sachs with a Neutral rating and a $22 price target. The consensus target is $22.25. The final trade Monday came in at $21.74.

Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE: VSTO) was raised from Market Perform to Outperform with a price target increase to $33 at Cowen. The consensus target is $30.57. Shares traded up over 5% in the premarket.

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ZI) was started with an Overweight rating and a $60 price target at Stephens. That compares with a $54.67 consensus target and Monday’s $44.20 close.

24/7 Wall St.
Will These Top-Performing S&P 500 Stocks Still Be a Buy in 2021?

Five top semiconductor companies not only have a long history of success and innovation, but their stocks still offer a reasonable upside to the Goldman Sachs 2021 price targets.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Ally Financial, Callaway Golf, Infinera, Lithia Motors, Microsoft, Nike, SolarWinds, Tapestry and Walmart.

The post Top Analysts Upgrades and Downgrades: Chubb, Hyatt, Intuit, MercadoLibre, Pioneer Natural Resources, Sinclair, Skyworks, T-Mobile, Teladoc, ZoomInfo and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Tech stocks got off to a positive start Wednesday morning. The Nasdaq traded up about 1.3%, the S&P 500 was up 1.04% and the Dow traded 0.7% higher shortly after the opening bell. All three also closed higher on Tuesday.

Consumer cyclical stocks came out of the chute about 1.7% higher, while technology stocks traded up by around 1.5%. Ten of 11 market sectors were higher in the first few minutes of trading Wednesday morning.

Here are the 14 Nasdaq 100 index stocks that were making the biggest moves Wednesday morning. Gainers outnumbered decliners by about nine to one.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) traded up about 3.4%, at $147.43 in a 52-week range of $134.70 to $451.77. The company had no specific news Wednesday morning.

DexCom Inc. (NASDAQ: DXCM) traded up 3.4%, at $440.00 in a 52-week range of $318.45 to $659.45. The company had no specific news.

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) traded up about 3.1%, at $365.77 in a 52-week range of $318.07 to $555.77. The company had no specific news.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) traded up about 2.9%, at $9767 in a 52-week range of $93.79 to $126.32. On Monday, Bloomberg reported that the arabica coffee beans favored by Starbucks and most other coffee shops have reached a 22-year low. That means rising prices, and firms like Starbucks have more pricing power than small shops.

Premium Arabica coffee beans are up about 100% since January 2021. So what's going on? https://t.co/O6NzX9kgPq

— Bloomberg (@business) January 8, 2022

Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID) traded up about 3.3%, at $28.33 in a 52-week range of $16.12 to $64.86. The company had no specific news.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) traded up about 3.6%, at $168.05 in a 52-week range of $129.71 to $219.94. BTIG Research lowered its rating on the stock from Buy to Neutral Tuesday.

JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ: JD) traded up about 3.5%, at $77.99 in a 52-week range of $61.65 to $108.29. The company had no specific news.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) traded down by about 1.5%, at $237.16 in a 52-week range of $198.64 to $261.00. Ratings changes released in the morning produced no changes (three remained neutral and two remained positive). All five however lifted their price targets in a range of $3 to $40.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) traded down about 0.6% at $139.56 in a 52-week range of $129.72 to $204.00. A semiconductor equipment maker, ASML, released its annual report Wednesday morning that was upbeat on the chip industry but cautious about how much capital it could take.

Our Annual Report 2021 shows how strong partnerships enabled strong growth: https://t.co/SfpAJVBUNw pic.twitter.com/IaZ6iB7ON2

— ASML (@ASMLcompany) February 9, 2022

Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL) traded down about 0.7%, at $75.91 in a 52-week range of $37.92 to $93.85. The company had no specific news.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) traded down about 0.5%, at $119.80 in a 52-week range of $105.45 to $176.66. See the comment on Datadog.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) traded down about 0.6%, at $201.45 in a 52-week range of $164.19 to $239.91. The company had no specific news, but our comment on Skyworks also applies to NXP.

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ: KDP) traded down about 0.4%, at $38.69 in a 52-week range of $30.28 to $39.35. This is likely the reaction we would expect from a coffee supplier not named Starbucks to have to the news on the supply of arabica coffee.

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Warren Buffet’s 8 Highest Yielding Stocks Also May Be Incredible 2022 Bargains

The post Wednesday Morning’s 14 Tech Stock Movers Include Amgen, Starbucks and Zoom appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks are coming off of a miserable week, but the futures were marginally positive on Monday morning. Investors have seen less upside from buying immediately after the big market sell-offs than in prior years, and now they have to consider how they want their investments and assets positioned for 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, December 10, 2018.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $112 price target (versus an $88.65 prior close) at HSBC. It had a consensus analyst target of $123.31 and a 52-week trading range of $86.75 to $138.76. Its shares were indicated up almost 1% at $89.50, after falling 2.8% to $88.65 on Friday.

Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: ADS) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $240 price target (versus a $180.44 close, after a 3.6% drop) at BMO Capital Markets.

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) was raised to Buy from Neutral but the price target was lowered to $34 from $39 at Seaport Global. The 52-week range is $32.96 to $50.03, and the consensus target price is $47.52.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $101 price target (versus an $82.67 close) at Robert W. Baird. It had a consensus target price of $113.59, and the 52-week trading range is $81.85 to $106.50.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the target was lowered to $84 from $107 at B. Riley FBR. Shares closed down 1.5% at $74.03 on Friday and were indicated another 0.7% at $73.59 on Monday. The consensus target price was $98.37.

CoreSite Realty Corp. (NYSE: COR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $102 price target (versus a $97.19 close) at Jefferies.

Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $136 from $124 (versus a $115.72 close) at Jefferies.

Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $479 from $454 (versus a $386.47 close) at Jefferies.

Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. (NYSE: FBHS) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $54 target price (versus a $42.59 close) at Goldman Sachs.

JELD-WEN Holding Inc. (NYSE: JELD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $20 target price (versus a $16.89 close) at Goldman Sachs.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral with a $16 target price (versus a $16.73 close) at Nomura/Instinet.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS), which was recently the subject of buyout rumors, was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $20 target price (versus a $13.64 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) was maintained as Neutral with a $95 price target at Wedbush Securities ahead of this week’s analyst day.

Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform with a $26 price target (versus a $16.05 close) at Evercore ISI.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was maintained as Overweight but the price target was lowered to $61 from $73 (versus a $35.31 close, after a 6.26% drop) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The stock was indicated down 1.1% at $34.90 on Monday, and it had a consensus target price of $60.00 and a 52-week trading range of $33.82 to $64.66.

Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and the target price was slashed to $23 from $43 (versus a $28.69 close) at Goldman Sachs. It was indicated down almost 4% at $27.60 on Monday, and its prior consensus target price was $44.61.

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI.

Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $58 price target at Goldman Sachs.

Parsley Energy Inc. (NYSE: PE) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform with a $39 price target at Evercore ISI.

Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was lowered to $99 from $126 at B. Riley FBR.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral at Nomura/Instinet.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: RNR) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the target was raised to $168 from $143 at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. The stock closed up 4% at $139.20 on Friday, and its prior consensus target price was $140.

SecureWorks Corp. (NASDAQ: SCWX) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $17 target price (versus a $15.64 close, after an 8.5% drop) at Morgan Stanley.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Sector Weight From Overweight by KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Visteon Corp. (NYSE: VC) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and the target price was lowered to $63 from $83 at Goldman Sachs.

Wageworks Inc. (NYSE: WAGE) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities.

Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.

While this trading has been reminiscent of bear market trading action, it is important to heed some dire warnings about when to trust analyst calls during bear markets.

Credit Suisse has listed its nine newest top picks to outperform into 2019.

Friday’s top analyst calls included Apple, Broadcom, Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy, Lululemon Athletica, SecureWorks, Tesla, Zendesk and many more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Albermarle, Capital One, Equinix, KeyCorp, Kratos, Lowe’s, Micron, Skyworks, Yamana Gold and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Tech stocks got off to a slightly higher start Friday morning. The Nasdaq traded up about 0.3%, the S&P 500 up by around 0.2%, and the Dow Jones industrials were up 0.2% shortly after the opening bell. All three closed lower on Thursday.

Unlike Thursday, there is no inflation report was due out Friday, and markets may get a bit of a boost from that. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report is due out in the morning.

Tech and communications stocks came out of the chute up by about 0.2% each. Seven of 11 market sectors traded higher in the first few minutes of trading Friday morning with utilities up 0.6% and energy up 0.5%.

Here are 14 Nasdaq 100 index stocks that were making the biggest moves early Friday.

VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) traded up 5.4%, at $224.17 in a 52-week range of $184.60 to $257.03. The company beat earnings estimates on both the top and bottom lines late Thursday.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) traded down by about 2.6%, at $146.15 in a 52-week range of $134.70 to $451.77. The company had no specific news Friday morning.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG) traded up about 2.1%, at $4178.36 in a 52-week range of $69.73 to $199.68. KeyBanc Capital Markets raised its rating on the shares from Sector Weight to Overweight. The price target is $210. Several other software stocks received a boost from this upgrade as well.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) traded up about 1.0%, at $119.16 in a 52-week range of $105.45 to $176.66. The company had no specific news.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA) traded up about 0.9%, at $198.05 in a 52-week range of $171.86 to $294.00. The company had no specific news.

Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) traded up about 0.8%, at $241.46 in a 52-week range of $217.60 to $307.81. The company had no specific news.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) traded up by about 1.8%, at $92.55 in a 52-week range of $65.67 to $98.45. The company had no specific news.

On the negative side, chipmakers and semiconductor equipment makers were taking modest losses early Friday.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was down about 0.9%, at $255.91 in a 52-week range of $115.67 to $346.67. The company had no specific news.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) traded down about 0.8%, at $124.77 in a 52-week range of $72.50 to $164.46. The company’s acquisition of Xilinx is expected to be completed on Monday or soon thereafter.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) traded down by about 0.4%, at $140.31 in a 52-week range of $129.72 to $204.00. The company had no specific news.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) traded down about 0.7%, at $651.75 in a 52-week range of $501.11 to $895.93. The company had no specific news.

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Atlassian Corp. PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) traded down about 1.3%, at $341.72 in a 52-week range of $198.80 to $483.13. The company had no specific news Friday morning, but there was a report Thursday that Atlassian was considering moving its headquarters from the United Kingdom to the United States.

Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) traded down about 1.1% at $307.60 in a 52-week range of $217.69 to $377. 60. The company had no specific news.

The post Friday Morning’s 14 Tech Stock Movers Include AMD, Nvidia and Zoom appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures traded lower after a big risk-off Monday to start the trading week. All the major indexes closed higher, as the financial media cited a string of positives, including slowing inflation, a less aggressive Federal Reserve and an improving supply chain. Yet, fourth-quarter results are coming in much worse than expected, and so far only 67% of companies that have reported have topped estimates, versus the five-year average of 77%. So, selling the strength may make sense now.

Yields were higher across the Treasury curve as the sellers from Friday returned and yield curve steepening returned. The 10-year note closed at 3.53%, which keeps the inversions with the two-year paper in place, as it closed on Monday at 4.23%. Bond market mavens see the ongoing yield difference as a sign that a recession may be on the way, something many Wall Street strategists agree with.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude tried to keep their winning ways in place, as both closed flat or modestly higher on Monday. Monday’s final prints came on the heels of last week’s 2% gains for the oil benchmarks. Natural gas finished the day up almost 9% at $3.55, as investors grabbed the beaten-down shares in a big way. Gold closed up, while Bitcoin, which has been on a roll lately, closed up close to 1% and is approaching the $23,000 level.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised its $70 target price to $85. The consensus target is $91.01. The stock closed over 9% higher on Monday at $76.53 on the upgrade.

Altice USA Inc. (NYSE: ATUS): TD Securities downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold with a $6 target. The consensus target is higher at $8.94, but Monday’s close was at $4.77.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Though Deutsche Bank reiterated a Buy rating, the analyst trimmed its $170 target price to $160. The consensus target is up at $171.48. Monday’s close was at $141.11.

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First Energy Corp. (NYSE: FE): Guggenheim upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised its $34 target price to $46. The consensus target is $43.25. The shares closed on Monday at $41.14.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI): J.P. Morgan downgraded the apparel giant to Neutral from Overweight. It also trimmed its $19 target price to $17, below the $19.48 consensus target. The stock closed on Monday at $16.82.

Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $12 target price. That compares with the $14.43 consensus target, as well as Monday’s final print of $8.82, which was up almost 13% for the day on the strong tape and the coverage.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): Argus reiterated a Buy rating and boosted its $340 target price to $390. The consensus target is $342.83. The shares closed over 4% higher on Monday at $357.42.

PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the stock from Outperform to Neutral with a $130 target price. The consensus target is $135.27. Monday’s close was at $130.30.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM): When Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight, it raised the $120 target price to $150. The consensus target is $146.15. The shares closed almost 7% higher on Monday at $131.03.

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Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: STX): Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight. It lifted its $50 target price to $70, still short of the $91.01 consensus target. The stock closed on Monday at $63.23, up over 6% on the day, likely on the upgrade.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Deutsche Bank raised its Hold rating to Buy, and its $40 target price rose to $50. The consensus target is $41.48. Monday’s final trade was for $44.04 a share.

Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX): Cowen’s upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform came with a target price hike to $65 from $48. The consensus target is $48.63. The stock closed at $48.75 on Monday.
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and lifted its $95 price target to $125. The consensus target is $108.23. Monday’s $109.61 closed was up almost 7% for the day on the upgrade.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK): Citing earnings estimate cuts, Zacks named this toolmaker as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $180.93 in the past year but closed most recently at $88.47.

Ternium S.A. (NYSE: TX): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral. Its $38 price target is now $42, short of the $44.91 consensus target. Monday’s close at $38.78 was a one-day gain of almost 3%.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Though Truist Financial reiterated a Buy rating, it slashed its $299 target price to $245. The consensus target is $196.22. Positive analyst commentary in front of this week’s earnings report had shares up almost 8% on Monday at the $143.74 close.

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W): J.P. Morgan raised the stock to Overweight from Underweight and has a $63 target price, up from $35. The consensus target is $48.07 for now. The shares closed on Monday at $59.33, up a stunning 27% on the huge upgrade.

Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY): Deutsche Bank’s downgrade to Hold from Buy included a target price cut to $195 from $215. The consensus target is $201.68. Monday’s closing share price was $176.43.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM): MKM Partners cut its Buy rating to Neutral and lowered its $100 target price to $75. The consensus target is $86.12. Monday’s close was at $70.97.

See which seven solid dividend-paying stocks could benefit and do well in a period of declining inflation and disinflation, making them great ideas now for investors worried about the potential for a recession this year.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Global Payments, Lululemon Athletica, Mastercard, Mosaic, Netflix, Nordstrom, Pinterest, Travelers and Truist Financial.

The post Tuesday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AMD, Apple, CrowdStrike, Lucid, Netflix, Qualcomm, Shopify, Tesla, Wayfair, Workday and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures traded lower on Friday as a wild roller-coaster trading week and month on Wall Street come to an end. All three major indexes ended higher, while many of the highly shorted “casino stocks” saw some dreadful selling. Top analysts on Wall Street already were starting to point to “bubble” type metrics, and the stunning gains and now losses in the short interest plays are an example. With fourth-quarter earnings reports continuing to stream in, most across Wall Street will not only be examining the results but also looking to see what guidance for the first quarter and the rest of 2021 looks like. With the major indexes and the Russell 2000 still very close to all-time highs, it makes sense for investors to start building some cash reserves while positioning portfolios for the rest of 2021.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday, January 29, 2021.

ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, though it raised the price target on the home security giant to $10.75. The consensus target is $11.38. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $9.63.

Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: ADS) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Neutral at Wells Fargo, which also raised the price target to $75. That compares with the consensus target of $86.44 and Thursday’s close of $70.79.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, while the price target was raised to $190. The consensus target is $177.59, and the stock closed Thursday at $166.75.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler, which lowered the price target to $80. The consensus target is $93.71 and Thursday’s close was at $77.15.

Calix Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: CALX) was downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform with a $30 target at Northland Capital. The posted consensus target is $34. The last trade for Thursday came in at $32.54, which was down almost 6% on so-so earnings.

Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the stock was trading above the most optimistic price targets and investors should liquidate any positions and thank the heavens that they were able to get such a good price for them. Shares last closed at $2.25 but have a consensus price target of $1.38.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was raised at Morgan Stanley from Equal Weight to Overweight with a $95 price target. The consensus target is $82.85. The last trade on Thursday came in at $78.90, after a one-day gain of almost 4%.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was raised to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley with a $230 price objective. The consensus price objective across Wall Street for the aerospace giant is set at $229.17. The shares were last seen Thursday at $197.23.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this company is adaptable and resourceful, and no matter what the economy throws at it, Goldman Sachs will come out on top. Shares most recently closed at $275.02 and have a consensus price target of $334.10.

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Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI) was upgraded at JPMorgan to Neutral from Underweight. The firm also raised the price target to $171. That compares with a higher $187.20 consensus target and Thursday’s $169.83 final print.

NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ: NICE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, which raised its price target to $330. The $290 consensus target is still well above the most recent close of $262.66, despite an almost 4% gain on Thursday.

NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) was started at Goldman Sachs with a Buy rating and a $57 price target. The consensus target for the utility giant is $47.40. The closing price on Thursday was $41.22, after an almost 4% gain on the day.

Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) saw its $88 price target at Telsey Advisory Group raised to $120. The firm maintained its Outperform rating on the stock. The consensus target is $111.59. The share price rose almost 3% on Thursday and closed at $103.54.

Sallie Mae Corp. (NYSE: SLM) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets, which also raised the target price to $20. The consensus target is $15.23. The last trade to hit the tape came in at $13.93 on Thursday, which was a whopping 14% gain for the day. Shares were up another 3% in Friday’s premarket action.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) saw its target price raised to $215 from $185 at Cowen. The posted consensus target is $171.81. The shares were last seen on Thursday at $159.79.

Stitch Fix Inc. (NASDAQ: SFIX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird, which raised the price target to $85. The much lower consensus target is $51.88. However, the last trade on Thursday was reported at $99.87, despite pulling back over 6% for the day.

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE: STM) saw its price target raised to $49 from $45 at Cowen, which reiterated its Outperform rating. The consensus target is $43.73. Thursday’s close was at $40.33, which was up almost 7% on the day.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) saw its price target raised to $175 from $165 at Telsey Advisory Group. The consensus target is $159.63, and shares were last seen changing hands on Thursday at $149.44.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) was upgraded to Outperform from In-line with the price target raised to $80 at Evercore ISI. The much lower consensus target is $55.78. The stock ended Thursday’s session at $52.65. The shares were up almost 10% in the premarket, after posting solid results yesterday.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Abbott Laboratories, American Express, eBay, Exact Sciences, Lam Research, ServiceNow, Tesla and Twitter. Analyst calls made later in the day featured Apple, Bed Bath & Beyond, First Solar, Snap and more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Baxter, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, NRG Energy, Ralph Lauren, Skyworks, Stitch Fix, Western Digital and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures were mixed on Tuesday after a solid start to the week on Monday, when all three of the major indexes closed higher and only the Russell 2000 finished in the red. The Dow Jones Transportation Average hit another all-time intraday high, before closing down, and last week it posted its seventh consecutive week of gains. That is the longest winning streak for the index since the week ending March 18, 2016, when the market rose for nine straight weeks. The rising transportation index bodes very well for continued economic strength.

Top strategists on Wall Street continue pointing to “bubble” metrics, like the massive “meme” retail stock and option trading, huge hedge fund leverage and IPOs that don’t make money as examples, so the current volatility may be here for some time.

With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction across the board, it makes sense for investors to continue building some cash reserves into the market strength, while repositioning portfolios for the start of the second quarter and the rest of 2021.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, March 23, 2021.

Amalgamated Bank Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: AMAL) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which lowered the price target to $17.50. The posted consensus target is $18.13. The stock ended Monday trading at $16.44, after retreating over 6% on the day.

Ardelyx Inc. (NASDAQ: ARDX) was started with an Outperform rating and a $14 price target at Wedbush. The consensus target is $13.86, and Monday’s last trade was reported at $6.93. The shares were up over 4% in premarket action.

Azul S.A. (NYSE: AZUL) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range is $5.50 to $25.84, and the consensus price target is $20.79. Mondays’ final trade for the Brazilian airline came in at $21.56, down almost 6% on the day.

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BioLife Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: BLFS) was raised from Hold to Buy with a $54 price target at Benchmark. The consensus target is lower at $44.21. The shares were last seen Monday at $38.57. The stock was up a whopping 17% in the premarket after the release of a stronger than expected fiscal 2021 revenue outlook.

DarioHealth Corp. (NASDAQ: DRIO) was started with a Buy rating and a $30 price target at Stifel. The consensus price objective is $28.88. The stock closed Monday at $24.22, up a stunning 22% for the day.

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DNB) was started with a Market Perform rating at Raymond James. The 52-week trading range is a narrow $21.34 at $29.55, and the consensus price objective is $29.64. Monday’s last trade came in at $24.55 a share.

Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: AQUA) was raised to Buy from Hold at Berenberg, which also raised the target price to $34. The consensus price target is $29.64, and the last trade for Monday hit the tap at $25.24.

Freeline Therapeutics Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: FRLN) was started at Buy with a $27 price target at Mizuho. The consensus target is $26.60, and the stock closed at $13.76 on Monday.

MDU Resources Group Inc. (NYSE: MDU) was started at BofA Securities with a Buy rating and a $36 price target. The consensus target is $32.00, and Monday’s last trade was at $29.82.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Longbow. The semiconductor company has traded in a 52-week range of $61.62 to $166.67, and the consensus price target is $170.05. The stock closed on Monday at $154.86, after over a 3% gain for the day.

Mission Produce Inc. (NASDAQ: AVO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, though it raised the price target to $22. The consensus target is $23.20, and Monday’s closing trade was at $20.39 a share.
Score Media and Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: SCR) was started at Credit Suisse with an Outperform rating and a $49 price target. No consensus target was available as the company had a recent initial public offering. The last trade for Monday came in at $27.29. The shares were up big in the premarket, tacking on an additional 9%.

Shoals Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SHLS) was started with a Buy rating at Johnson Rice, which also put a $43 price target on shares of the solar parts and infrastructure company. The consensus target is $42.30. The stock was last seen on Monday trading at $32.34.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which pointed out that this company’s cutting-edge chip technology is critical for the ushering out of 5G devices. Shares most recently closed at $179.82 and have a consensus price target of $201.52.

So-Young International Inc. (NASDAQ: SY) saw its target price lowered to $14 from $16 at Needham. The consensus target $15.83. Disappointing results knocked the stock back almost 17% on Monday to a $10.01 close.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) was downgraded at Goldman Sachs to Neutral from Buy, and the firm lowered the price target on the solar stock to $32. The consensus target is $31.12. The shares were last seen Monday at $34.44, which was 8% higher on the day.

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) was raised at Goldman Sachs from Neutral to Buy with a $77 price target. The consensus objective is up at $81.18, and the final print for Monday was reported at $57.38, after an almost 4% gain on the day. Shares followed through in Tuesday’s premarket, adding an additional 3%.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Longbow. The venerable tech giant has traded in a 52-week range of $96.07 to $181.80 and has a consensus price target of $182.15. The last trade for Monday came in at $180.10, which was up almost 3% for the day.

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Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Dollar General, DuPont, Dynatrace, Goldfields, Kansas City Southern, Pinterest, Snap and Sunrun.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Beyond Meat, Dun & Bradstreet, Microchip Technology, Skyworks Solutions, SunPower, Texas Instruments and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Tech stocks got off to a slightly upbeat start Monday morning, but the market was seeking a direction since the opening bell. At last look, the Nasdaq traded down by about 0.13%, the S&P 500 down by around 0.56% and the Dow Jones industrials down by 0.86%. All three closed lower on Friday.

There is no economic news out Monday, and stocks got a bit of a boost from a comment by Russia’s foreign minister that there is a chance for an agreement over Ukraine. That sent crude prices down a bit, and yields on 10-year and two-year Treasuries up about three and seven basis points, respectively. The yield curve narrowed to below 0.40 percentage points.

Consumer cyclicals was the only sector trading higher (0.2%) in the early going. The other 10 market sectors traded lower in the first half-hour or so of trading, with energy down 2.1% and health care down 1.1%.

Here are 14 Nasdaq 100 index stocks that were making the biggest moves early Monday.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) traded up 5.6%, at $140.88 in a 52-week range of $105.45 to $176.66. The company reportedly has rejected an offer from Cisco Systems to be acquired for $20 billion. Although discussions are said to be over, the offer, which amounted to a premium of 11% over Friday’s closing price, may have been too low, and Cisco or another firm could make a higher one.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) traded up about 2.2%, at $115.78 in a 52-week range of $72.50 to $164.46. The company completed its acquisition of Xilinx Monday morning.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was up about 1.3% to $242.68, in a 52-week range of $115.67 to $346.47. The company had no specific news.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) traded up by about 2%, at $91.58 in a 52-week range of $65.67 to $98.45. Wedbush just upgraded the stock from Neutral to Outperform and raised the price target from $100 to $120.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) traded up about 2.2%, at $72.72 in a 52-week range of $64.53 to $90.00. The company had no specific news.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) traded up by about 1.5%, at $135.14 in a 52-week range of $129.72 to $204.00. The company had no specific news.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) traded up by about 1.4% at $143.21 in a 52-week range of $134.70 to $451.77. CCIC has initiated coverage on the stock with an Outperform rating and a price target of $182.92.

On the negative side, software providers appeared to be out of favor in early trading Monday.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG) traded down by about 3.7%, at $161.84 in a 52-week range of $69.73 to $199.68. The company had no specific news.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) traded down by about 1.8%, at $52.90 in a 52-week range of $44.15 to $64.28. The company has apparently ended its effort to acquire Splunk, a move that signals different things to different investors. Some see a missed opportunity, and others see less spending and more shareholder returns. Loop Capital initiated coverage of the Dow stock Monday morning with a Buy rating and a price target of $71.

Cisco Systems, the technology conglomerate, has held discussions with the software company Splunk about buying it, although no deal is currently on the table, two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times on Friday. https://t.co/0oA2J6T1jl

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 12, 2022

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) traded down by about 0.5%, at $114.75 in a 52-week range of $113.17 to $310.16. The low was posted early in the morning. The company had no specific news.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) traded down about 0.5%, at $86.94 in a 52-week range of $66.19 to $92.44. The company had no specific news.

VeriSign Inc.(NASDAQ: VRSN) traded down about 0.3%, at $213.68 in a 52-week range of $184.60 to $257.03. The company had no specific news.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) traded down about 0.3%, at $534.34 in a 52-week range of $365.15 to $716.86. The company had no specific news.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) traded down about 0.6%, at $293.18 in a 52-week range of $224.26 to $349.67. The company had no specific news.

The post Monday Morning’s 14 Tech Stock Movers Include Cisco, Microsoft and Splunk appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were taking another leg lower on Friday after Thursday’s sell-off. Some of the top stocks are selling off after earnings, and now the momentum plays are all weighing on the market as investors grapple with high valuations and a very weak economy. Many investors missed much of the recovery rally since March and are looking for new ideas for how to be positioned heading into the second half of 2020 and ahead of the election.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

Remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision. Consensus analyst target prices are from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst calls we have seen on Friday, July 24, 2020.

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $15 target price at Deutsche Bank.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) was raised to Buy from Hold and its target was raised to $7.75 from $6.75 at Deutsche Bank.

Arbutus Biopharma Corp. (NASDAQ: ABUS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird. Shares rose over 100% to $6.20 on Thursday as Moderna failed to invalidate one of their patents for a vaccine program, but Arbutus was up another 13% at $7.00 on Friday morning. Even after the huge pop, it had only a $427 million market cap.

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its target price was raised to $70 from $53 (versus a $52.55 prior close) at JPMorgan.

Blackstone Group Inc. (NYSE: BX) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $64 from $58 (versus a $56.67 close) at Barclays.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was started as Buy with a $120 price target (versus a $91.01 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was started as Buy with a $51 price target at SunTrust.

eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) was last seen down about 18% at $114.00 on Friday morning after disappointing numbers in its earnings the prior day. Barclays maintained it as Overweight but cut its target to $140 from $150. SVB Leerink reiterated it as Market Perform and raised its target to $110 from $108.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) was started as Market Perform at JMP Securities. Shares closed at $61.67 ahead of the call, with a $54.93 consensus target price.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was started as Hold with a $41 price target (versus a $43.70 close) at SunTrust.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) was reiterated as Overweight and its target price was raised to $32 from $30 (versus a $26.76 close) at Barclays.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) closed down 1% at $60.40 ahead of earnings but was last seen down almost 14% at $51.95 after lowering third-quarter expectations and after further delays on its next-generation chips. Northland Capital downgraded it to Underperform from Market Perform, and BofA Securities downgraded it to Neutral from Buy. Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating to Hold from Buy, and Bernstein downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform. Roth Capital downgraded Intel to Neutral from Buy, and Barclays downgraded it to Underweight from Equal Weight. The consensus target price will be dropping handily after the downgrades and target price cuts, but that consensus target price was $62.72 before this big drop.

Penumbra Inc. (NYSE: PEN) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that growth has stalled for this innovator in blood clot removal. Shares last closed at $207.19 and have a consensus price target of $199.75.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was up 4.7% at $41.29 on Thursday and was indicated up 3% at $42.55 on Friday. Raymond James raised it to Outperform from Market Perform and with a $48 target price.

Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight but its price target was raised to $165 from $155 (versus a $172.90 close) at Piper Sandler.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $155 from $120 (versus a $135.34 close) at Raymond James. Benchmark reiterated a Buy rating and raised its target price to $155 from $120 as well.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) gapped up big on Thursday after earnings but closed down almost 5% at $1,513.07 on the same day, and it was indicated down another 4.6% at $1,443.10 on Friday. Daiwa Capital downgraded Tesla to Neutral from Outperform but raised its price target to $1,650 from $1,500.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) was reiterated as a Strong Buy and its target price was raised to $170 from $135, compared with a $146.00 prior closing price.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) was reiterated as a Neutral at Rosenblatt, and its target price was raised to $33 from $30. The most recent closing price was $38.44. Twitter closed up 4% at $38.44 ahead of earnings but was indicated down 1% on Friday. Its prior consensus target price was $33.76.

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) was reiterated with a Strong Buy rating and its target price was raised slightly to $198 from $194 (versus a $175.00 close) at Raymond James.

Xerox Holdings Corp. (NYSE: XRX) was downgraded to an Underweight rating from Neutral and its target price was cut to $20 from $23 (versus a $16.81 close) by JPMorgan.

24/7 Wall St.
3 Data Center and 3 Medical REITs With Massive Total Return Potential

Goldman Sachs has seven oil and gas stocks for big upside on its prized Conviction Buy List.

Also, here 10 stocks from Morgan Stanley riding the demand for hydrogen fuel.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apache, Check Point Software Technologies, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Electronic Arts, Inogen, Microsoft, Moderna, Shopify, Tesla and Varonis Systems.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AGNC, Annaly, Arbutus, Blackstone, Chevron, Enphase, Exxon, GM, Intel, Tesla, Skyworks and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Markets started out the week on a terrible note as concerns of an economic slowdown mounted. Coupled with the lockdowns in China and war in Ukraine, it was a very bleak picture. While there has been a bounce on Tuesday, these concerns are still abundant.

The consumer price index was released Tuesday morning, and the inflation picture was mixed, to say the least. At 8.5% year over year, CPI was at its highest level since 1981. However, month over month, inflation increased 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for March, suggesting that inflation may have peaked.

This also comes as the Federal Reserve is preparing to raise interest rates to combat inflation. How this balancing act will play out is yet to be seen, but what we know now is that rate hikes of 50 basis points are on the table. Considering the Fed’s upcoming move and the tumultuous nature of markets recently, it makes for a real stock-pickers’ market.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Tuesday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day were on Cisco, CrowdStrike, Ferrari, Starbucks, Waste Management and many more.

Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $24 price target. The 52-week trading range is $17.29 to $32.81, and shares were trading near $21 apiece on Tuesday.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG): Citigroup started coverage with a Buy rating and a $1,900 price target. The stock traded near $1,565 on Tuesday. The 52-week trading range is $1,277.41 to $1,958.55.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Neutral rating, and it raised the price target to $270 from $260. Shares were trading near $252 on Tuesday. The 52-week range is $217.68 to $271.15.

Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ): Credit Suisse resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $70 price target. The stock traded near $64 on Tuesday. The 52-week trading range is $57.63 to $69.47.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR): Citigroup downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and cut the $71 price target to $64. The stock traded near $60 on Tuesday. The 52-week trading range is $53.47 to $71.12.

Repare Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RPTX): Stifel’s downgrade was from Buy to Hold with an $11 price target. Shares were trading near $11. The 52-week range is $9.59 to $35.75.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): B. Riley Securities downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and cut the $175 price target to $138. The stock traded near $123 on Tuesday. The 52-week trading range is $118.99 to $204.00.

24/7 Wall St.
Earnings Previews: Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo

Utz Brands Inc. (NYSE: UTZ): Credit Suisse’s downgrade to Neutral from Outperform included a price target cut from $20 to $16.50. Shares were trading near $14 on Tuesday. The 52-week range is $13.50 to $30.09.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM): Citigroup started coverage with a Buy rating and a $156 price target. The stock traded near $120 on Tuesday. The 52-week trading range is $111.63 to $139.85.

The post The Fed’s Inflation Balancing Act; Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades on McDonald’s, Mondelez, Skyworks and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The fourth-quarter earnings reporting season is kicking into gear, and we will be seeing some of the biggest companies in the world reporting this week, including the likes of Facebook and Tesla. Here, 24/7 Wall St. has put together a preview of a few of the most anticipated quarterly reports expected this week.

We have included the consensus earnings estimates, as well as the stock price and trading history. Be advised that the earnings and revenue estimates may change ahead of the formal reports, and some companies may change reporting dates as well.

Look for General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) to share its third-quarter numbers before Tuesday’s open. The consensus estimates call for $0.09 in earnings per share (EPS) and revenue of $21.82 billion. Shares closed recently around $11, while the consensus price target is $11.75. The 52-week trading range is $5.48 to $13.26.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) fourth-quarter report is due late on Tuesday. The consensus estimates call for $0.47 in EPS and $3.02 billion in revenue. Shares dropped below $93 apiece late in the week. The consensus price target is just $93.34, and the 52-week trading range is $36.75 to $99.23.

Fourth-quarter results for Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) are expected late on Tuesday as well. The consensus estimates are earnings of $1.34 per share on revenue of $3.6 billion. Shares traded around $172 late in the week, while the consensus price target is $163.04. The 52-week range trading range is $93.09 to $175.47.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings Tuesday afternoon. The consensus estimates call for $0.55 in EPS and revenue of $6.92 billion. Shares were changing hands near $104 as the week wound down. The $106.22 mean price target compares with a 52-week trading range of $50.02 to $107.75.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday morning. The consensus estimates call for $0.73 in EPS and revenue of $44.56 billion. Shares were changing hands shy of $29 on last look. The $31.01 mean price target compares with the 52-week trading range of $26.08 to $38.82.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results late on Wednesday. The consensus estimates call $1.00 in EPS and revenue of $10.32 billion. The share price traded just above $846 on Friday. The analysts’ mean price target is $544.07, and the 52-week trading range is $70.10 to $884.49.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) also is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday after the closing bell as well. The consensus estimates call for $3.19 in EPS and revenue of $26.34 billion. Shares recently were changing hands just below $275. The $323.00 mean price target is within the 52-week trading range of $137.10 to $304.67.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) will share its most recent quarterly results before Thursday’s opening bell. The consensus forecast calls for $1.53 in EPS and $4.02 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter. Shares were trading around $329 late last week. The consensus price target is just $376.94, and shares have traded between $199.99 and $367.25 in the past 52 weeks.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) fourth-quarter report is due late on Thursday. The consensus estimates call for $2.08 in EPS and $1.06 billion in revenue. Shares traded near $161 late in the week. The consensus price target is just $164.38, and the 52-week range trading range is $67.90 to $168.95.

And watch for Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:  LLY) to release its most recent quarterly results on Friday morning. The consensus forecast calls for $2.35 in EPS and $7.28 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter. Shares were last seen near $206 on Friday. The consensus price target is $195.41. The share price has ranged from $117.06 to $206.54 in the past 52 weeks.

The post AMD, Facebook, GE, Starbucks, Tesla and More Major Earnings to Watch For This Week appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Tech stocks got off to a slow start Thursday morning. The Nasdaq traded down about 1.7%, the S&P 500 down by about 1.1% and the Dow down by around 0.5% shortly after the opening bell. All three also closed higher on Wednesday.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 7.5% year over year in January, and consumer prices rose 0.6% month over month, according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Labor. Excluding food and energy, core CPI rose 6% year over year and 0.6% month over month. This may signal more hawkish moves by the Federal Reserve to stem inflation, not a good indicator for equities.

At the same time, new claims for unemployment benefits last week came in at 223,000, below economists’ estimate for a rise of 230,000. Continuing claims totaled 1.62 million, unchanged week over week.

Tech stocks came out of the chute about 1.8% lower, while consumer cyclical stocks traded down around 1.5%. Ten of 11 market sectors traded lower in the first few minutes of Wednesday’s session, with energy, up 0.7%, posting the only gain.

Here are the 14 Nasdaq 100 index stocks that made the biggest (a relative term in this case) moves early Thursday.

Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) traded down about 3.5%, at $312.76 in a 52-week range of $217.69 to $377. 60. The company had no specific news Thursday morning.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) traded down about 3.5%, at $503.27 in a 52-week range of $420.789 to $699.54. The company has filed a mixed securities shelf offering.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) traded down by about 3.4%, at $242.89 in a 52-week range of $226.40 to $344.39. The company had no specific news.

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) traded down about 3.1%, at $149.68 in a 52-week range of $118.11 to $192.70. The company had no specific news.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) traded down by about 3.0%, at $562.22 in a 52-week range of $365.15 to $716.86. The company had no specific news this morning.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) traded down about 2.7% at $119.25 in a 52-week range of $105.45 to $176.66. The company had no specific news.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) traded down about 2.6%, at $146.15 in a 52-week range of $134.70 to $451.77. The company had no specific news.

On the positive side, Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG) traded up about 13.8% at 176.90 in a 52-week range of $69.73 to $199.68. The company reported quarterly results before markets opened that beat on both the top and bottom lines. And more:

CoScreen is now part of @datadoghq! Datadog shares our vision for a collaborative, real-time working experience that makes technical teams better at what they do, and we're excited to be part of the team. https://t.co/BIYKXnujnM

— CoScreen (@CoScreen) February 10, 2022

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) traded up by about 5.4%, at $92.91 in a 52-week range of $65.67 to $96.45. The company had no specific news.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA) traded up about 1.6%, at $198.54 in a 52-week range of $171.86 to $294.00. The company had no specific news.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) traded up about 1.1%, at $188.89 in a 52-week range of $150.02 to $298.48. The company had no specific news.

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Atlassian Corp. PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) traded up about 0.3%, at $336.56 in a 52-week range of $198.80 to $483.13. The company is considering moving its headquarters from the United Kingdom to the United States.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) traded up about 0.2% at $144.21 in a 52-week range of $129.72 to $204.00. The company had no specific news.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) traded up about 0.2%, at $123.20 in a 52-week range of $118.55 to $310.16. The company has created an advisory panel to consider whether it should introduce its own cryptocurrency.

The post Thursday Morning’s 14 Tech Stock Movers Include Datadog, PayPal and Zoom appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were indicated lower on Monday on additional trade concerns between China and the United States, even with OPEC expected to lower oil production. Investors have seen lower upside after buying immediately after the big market pullbacks than in prior years. The investing community needs to consider how to position their investments for the rest of the year and into 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Monday, November 12, 2018.

Achaogen Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAO) was downgraded to Neutral with a $3 target price (versus a $2.25 prior close) at Wedbush Securities, which noted that it is reviewing strategic alternatives with an additional restructuring in place. H.C. Wainwright also lowered its rating to Neutral and slashed its target to $3 from $19.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) was down 3% at $63.42 on Friday and down another 4.9% at $60.30 on Monday on fears of a coming FDA ban on menthol cigarettes. Wells Fargo maintains an Outperform rating on the stock after the weakness.

Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was maintained as Overweight at JPMorgan, but the firm lowed its target price to $266 from $270 and this was the second price target cut at the firm in the past 30 days as it expects modest declines in iPhone shipments this year and next.

Ardagh Group S.A. (NYSE: ARD) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting that there is a continued high leverage position here.

Athenahealth Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) is being acquired. KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained its Overweight rating but lowered its target price to $142 from $170. Robert W. Baird downgraded it to Neutral on the news.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $106 from $101 at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed at $84.69 on Friday, and the consensus target price is $99.61.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was raised to Neutral from Negative at Susquehanna, despite a 7% post-earnings drop to $25.37 last Friday. Its shares were indicated up 4.4% at $26.49.

Crown Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CCK) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, which noted that the stock was effectively de-rated since its Signode acquisition.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. (NYSE: CFR) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed at $103.03 on Friday, with a consensus target price of $104.82 and in a 52-week trading range of $90.02 to $121.66.

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: DNLI) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $26 fair value estimate (versus a $16.68 close) at Janney. The firm sees a large opportunity here for its approach to neurodegenerative diseases.

Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs, after Friday’s 15.4% gain to $21.79 on news it was being acquired by II-VI.

Imperial Oil Ltd. (NYSE: IMO) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

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Follow @Jonogg on Twitter to receive the daily analyst calls and other market research calls directly on your feed.

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) was raised to Neutral from Sell with a $25 price target at Goldman Sachs. The stock closed down almost 2.2% at $25.29 on Friday and was still indicated down 1% at $25.00 or so on Monday. The consensus target price is $33.11, and the 52-week trading range is $23.28 to $31.77.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: KERX) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $55 from $35 (versus a $36.50 close) at Wells Fargo.

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein. The stock was down 4.6% at $47.78 on Friday, with a consensus target price of $67.56 and a 52-week trading range of $47.47 to $75.96.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) was started with an Overweight rating and assigned an $84 price target (versus a $73.55 close) at Barclays. Occidental has a consensus target price of $93.35 and a 52-week trading range of $62.47 to $87.67.

Oil States International Inc. (NYSE: OIS) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Pacific Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Planet Fitness Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) was maintained as Buy at Argus, with the independent research firm saying that the recent weakness offers a buying opportunity.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

24/7 Wall St.
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Smart Sand Inc. (NASDAQ: SND) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and the target price was cut to $2.00 from $5.50 (versus a $3.25 close) at Credit Suisse. The firm noted that the company is in the unfortunate position of being levered to the piece of the frack sand value chain, which is most at risk from the Permian sand mines. The stock was indicated down 5.2% at $3.08 a share on Monday.

Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO) was downgraded to Sell from an already cautious Neutral rating at Citigroup. The firm also lowered its target price to $33 from $43, after a nearly 3% drop to $37.93 on Friday.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $79 price target at Argus. Starbucks closed a $68.60 on Friday, and it has a consensus target price of $65.36 and a 52-week trading range of $47.37 to $68.98.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $135 from $129 at Argus, with this post-earnings call talking up growth opportunities ahead. Disney shares closed up 1.7% at $118.00 on Friday, and they have a 52-week range of $97.68 to $120.20 and a consensus target price of $120.85.

Friday’s top analyst calls included ArcelorMittal, Barclays, Cree, Ctrip.com, Michael Kors, PVH, Skyworks, TripAdvisor, YRC Worldwide, Yelp and many more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Achaogen, Apple, Athenahealth, Crocs, Disney, Finisar, Jabil, Michael Kors, Occidental, Starbucks and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

It’s been said that a rising tide lifts all ships, and that seems to be true in Monday’s trading session following the G-20 meeting over the weekend. There, President Trump met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and has agreed to delay any new tariffs on Chinese goods, as well as allowing U.S. component suppliers to sell their goods to the Chinese tech giant Huawei.

When this trade war began in May, the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSEARCA: SMH) was near an all-time high. However, as trade tensions heightened over the course of May, this exchange-traded fund saw a drop off of roughly 16%. As these tensions have been somewhat resolved since, the fund is closing in on its all-time highs again.

It goes without saying that this ETF is being lifted by all of its components, some of the larger ones being Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD). Other tech companies are being lifted by this rising tide as well, such as Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS), Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA).

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may not be thrilled that the Huawei ban is being lifted, but with Chinese tariffs being relaxed the iPhone giant is more than content. Apple will still have to compete with Huawei and Samsung on the global stage.

Huawei achieved the highest year-over-year growth among the world’s top five smartphone producers. Its smartphone sales growing 69% and 33% in Europe and Greater China, respectively, get much of the credit. Note that Huawei has a 29.5% market share of Greater China’s smartphone market.

With this renewed vigor among semiconductors and components, it’s only a matter of time until Wall Street comes around and analysts correct themselves from what they said in May.

The post Easing of Trade Concerns Lifts Semiconductors appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks closed higher on Monday and were indicated to open even higher on Tuesday as earnings season ramps up. This is the week that the earnings floodgates open wide, so many analysts will be making tweaks ahead of reports and will be making slews of upgrades and downgrades afterward. With an election coming up and with what is still a very deep recession, investors need to be considering how they want their assets positioned for the second half of 2020 and as 2021 comes into focus.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

Remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision. Consensus analyst target prices are from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst calls we have seen on Tuesday, July 21, 2020.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD) was down 11% at $49.25 on Tuesday morning and was among the top after-hours movers on Monday. RBC Capital Markets reiterated it as Outperform but lowered its price target to $55 from $61 (versus a $55.42 prior close).

Albertsons Companies Inc. (NYSE: ACI) has seen its quiet period come to an end and many firms have issued their initial ratings and price targets. Wells Fargo was at Overweight with an $18 target, and BMO at Outperform with a $18 target. JPMorgan is at Overweight with a $19 target, while Guggenheim issued Buy rating and $20 target. BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup were all at Buy with a $22 target. Credit Suisse has an Outperform rating and an $18 target.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $1,750 from $1,650 at Mizuho. Alphabet closed up 3.1% at $1,563.84 and had a $1,583.77 consensus target price.

AMN Healthcare Services Inc. (NYSE: AMN) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $62 from $52 (versus a $47.92 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: AVDL) was started with an Outperform rating and a $17 target price (versus an $8.15 close) at SVB Leerink.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC. Shares closed down 3% at $15.00 on Monday but were indicated up over 2% at $15.30 on Tuesday morning. The consensus target price was $15.06.

Coeur Mining Inc. (NYSE: CDE) was raised to Buy from Hold and assigned an $8 target price (versus a $6.87 close) at Canaccord Genuity.

Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its target price was raised to $15 from $10 at Piper Sandler. It closed at $10.27 and had a $15.79 consensus target price.

Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE: EXK) was started with a Buy rating and a $4.75 price target at B. Riley FBR. Its shares closed up over 14% at $3.30 on Monday and were indicated up over 8% at $3.57 on Tuesday.

Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral and its target was raised to $81 from $776 (versus an $86.61 close) at Credit Suisse. It had an $87.88 consensus target price.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the target price was cut to $78 from $90 (versus a $78.43 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: FUSN) was started as Outperform with a $25 price target (versus a $15.28 close) at Wedbush Securities.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $16 from $14 at RBC Capital Markets. Raymond James reiterated its Strong Buy rating and raised its target to $18 from $15.

iHeartMedia Inc. (NASDAQ: IHRT) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral with an $8 price target (versus an $8.68 close) at JPMorgan.

Hubspot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $240 from $185 (versus a $229.60 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its target price was raised to $435 from $275 (versus a $353.75 close) at B. Riley FBR.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $170 from $125 (versus a $137.80 close) at Needham. It had a $124.29 consensus target price.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Market Outperform at JMP Securities. Tesla closed up over 9% at $1,643.00 a share on Monday and was indicated up 2% at $1,675 on Tuesday.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $300 from $240 (versus a $263.25 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that investors are finding value in this stock and see a potential infrastructure bill as a catalyst for a higher stock price. Shares most recently closed at $157.24 and have a consensus price target of $157.29.

Zendesk Inc. (NYSE: ZEN) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $300 from $240 (versus a $96.15 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Zions Bancorp. (NASDAQ: ZION) was maintained as Buy but its price target was cut to $40 from $50 at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that it might be a while before the mouse can find the cheese again. Shares last closed at $117.79 and have a consensus price target of $122.79.

There were nine major after-hours movers from earnings and other news on Monday.

As Americans are driving for travel rather than flying, there are four winners from the trend.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Amgen, Dropbox, EOG Resources, Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Newmont, Starbucks, Valero Energy and more.

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The big news in the semiconductor industry is the coming (if slowly) initial public offering of U.K.-based chip designer Arm. The company’s $66 billion acquisition by Nvidia fell through and current owner SoftBank has decided to list the shares in London and New York at a valuation of around $50 billion. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son confirmed in May that the company would retain a majority stake in Arm.

Arm does not make chips. It designs them using its own architecture and collects licensing and royalty payments from companies like Nvidia and Apple for using those designs in their products. It is a solid business. Arm reported licensing revenue of $1.13 billion in fiscal year 2021 and $1.54 billion in royalty sales. More than 29 billion Arm-based chips were sold in the past 12 months.

Designing semiconductors is a complex business, and that is where analysts at Bank of America Global Research see longer-term growth. The bank’s semiconductor research team, led by Vivek Arya, has upgraded two companies that make the electronic design automation (EDA) software used in chip design. Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) and Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) were both upgraded from Underperform to Neutral. BofA raised its price objective on Cadence stock from $160 to $175 and also raised its $325 price objective on Synopsys to $360.

Both firms have historically performed well during slowdowns in semiconductor sales: “While semiconductor sales are cyclical, EDA sales are more resilient, given their leverage to [semiconductor] R&D trends which often grows despite industry sales trends.”

While BofA estimates that chip sales will rise by 9.5% this year and decline by 0.7% in 2023 before rising by 7.9% in 2024, the two EDA firms are solid winners over the three-year period. Cadence is forecast to see sales growth of 9.1% this year, 9.8% in 2023 and 10.0% in 2024. Synopsys’s growth track is 16.0% this year, 11.5% next year and 10.5% in 2024.

In its specific comments about Cadence, BofA’s analysts wrote:

We like CDNS leading position in an EDA industry that is levered to the same secular trends as semis but with much more muted cyclicality. While we think CDNS has defensiveness/scarcity value, we remain cautious on company China exposure and potential government restrictions.

Earlier this week, Cadence extended its relationship with Arm. The U.K. company uses Cadence digital design and verification tools in creating its 5- and 7-nanometer chip designs.

Cadence stock traded up about 0.7% at around $151.10 just before noon Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $132.21 to $192.70. At BofA’s price target, the upside potential is around 15.8%.

About Synopsys, the analysts observed:

We like SNPS predictable and recurring revenue model, and believe the company can sustain growth even in the event of a downturn. Still, 15%+ China sales exposure is a risk subject to unpredictable US government restrictions.

Taiwan Semiconductor recently certified Synopsys digital and custom design flows for TSMC’s 3- and 4-nanometer process technologies.

Synopsys stock traded up about 1%, at around $306.75, just before noon Wednesday. The 52-week range is $255.02 to $377.60. At BofA’s price target, the upside potential is around 17.4%.

In the same research note, the BofA analysts downgraded four chipmakers: Teradyne Inc. (NASDAQ: TER) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral, as was Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN). Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO) and Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) were downgraded from Neutral to Underperform.

The Texas Instruments price objective was cut from $190 to $175, and Teradyne’s was cut from $140 to $110. Qorvo’s $125 price objective was lowered to $95, and Skyworks’ was cut from $130 to $105.

Teradyne makes and sells automated test equipment for a variety of industries, including chipmakers, and its largest customer is Apple. BofA’s analysts remain cautious on the stock due to expected slowdowns in chip sales growth.

Texas Instruments makes a variety of semiconductors and is a premier maker of analog chips. According to BofA, “near-term capex commitments could slow free cash flow growth, limiting [free cash flow] upside.”

Qorvo designs and makes semiconductors for wireless (RF) and wired connectivity products. BofA notes that the company “is benefitting from increasing complexity and content in next-generation connected mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets,” but the maturing conversion to 5G handsets and “supply/demand headwinds” may limit Qorvo’s upside.

Skyworks holds “dominant market share in the low-band and emerging broad markets [and internet of things] opportunities,” but the analysts note limited gross margin leverage, the maturing 5G handset business and difficult comparables as current concerns.

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Teradyne stock traded down about 6.7% at around $88.90 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $85.66 to $168.91. At BofA’s price target, the upside potential is around 23.4%.

Texas Instruments stock traded down about 0.8%, at around $152.90, just before noon Wednesday. The 52-week range is $149.10 to $202.26. At BofA’s price target, the upside potential is around 14.5%.

Qorvo shares traded down about 2.5% to around $96.10 late Wednesday morning, in a 52-week range of $91.91 to $201.46. The stock is currently trading above BofA’s price target of $95.

Skyworks stock traded down about 2.3%, at around $94.00, just before noon Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $88.76 to $197.62 At BofA’s price target, the upside potential is around 11.7%.

The post BofA Sees Big Upside in Semiconductor Stocks, Upgrades 2 Chip Design Picks appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures traded higher after the consumer price index numbers for April came in basically in line with expectations, with the lowest inflation print since April of 2021. All the major indexes finished Tuesday lower, as investors awaited the results, and with the CPI data out of the way, Wall Street now looks for a resolution for the debt ceiling limit. While the president and the Speaker of the House finally met on Tuesday, no agreement was reached. Senate Minority Leader McConnell said Tuesday that it is up to them to come up with a solution.

Earnings are wrapping up for the first quarter, and while most were solid, as expectations were lowered, top strategists see pricing power starting to fade and the economy weakening in the second half.

Treasury yields were flat Tuesday, as the bond market also waited for the inflation data. The benchmark 10-year note finished the day at 3.52%, while the two-year paper climbed back over the 4% level to finish at 4.03%. The inversion between the securities has been in place for over a year, starting on April 1 of 2022. The anomaly suggests that a recession is on the way.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were both modestly higher after a solid move higher late last week and on Monday. Despite positive forward fundamentals, and numerous oil supply disruptions, not the least of which are the wildfires in Canada shutting in production, crude prices have been unable to break out. Natural gas also finished the day slightly higher, closing at $2.26.

Gold was also higher on Tuesday, as massive central bank purchases are said to continue around the world. Bitcoin finished the day unchanged at $27,674.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB): Scotiabank upgraded the stock to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform. The firm’s price target is $250, lower than the $259.40 consensus target. The stock closed on Tuesday at $195.17, which was up 5% for the day. Albemarle crushed earnings estimates last week.

Alkami Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKT): J.P. Morgan initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $15 target price. The consensus target is up at $18.27. The stock closed on Tuesday at $12.63.

Enact Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ACT): BofA Securities lifted its Underperform rating to Neutral, and its $25 price target is now $27. The consensus target is $27.58. The shares closed on Tuesday at $24.40.

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $435 price objective. The consensus target is $442.03. The stock closed on Tuesday at $402.01.

Ferguson PLC (NYSE: FERG): When Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, the analyst lifted the $141.20 target price to $181. The consensus target is $146.66. Tuesday’s closing share price was $144.33.

Ingersoll-Rand Inc. (NYSE: IR): Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to Outperform from In Line. Its $71 target price is well above the $64.42 consensus target and the most recent close at $58.98.

Intapp Inc. (NASDAQ: INTA): Stifel raised its $36 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $47. The consensus target is $37.43. Tuesday’s $43.80 close was up almost 16% on the day after the company posted huge quarterly results.

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR): The Barclays downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight came with a target price cut from $250 all the way to $150. The consensus target is $176. The shares ended Tuesday trading at $94.24.

Next Era Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: NEP): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating but lowered its target price to $90 from $94. The consensus target is $78.27, and Tuesday’s last trade was for $61.93 a share.

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE: NTR): Citing the impact of higher costs on the fertilizer maker’s margins, Zacks selected this stock as its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $104.65 in the past year but closed most recently at $63.84. That is down almost 19% in the past 90 days.

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR): The $8 Goldman Sachs target price on the Neutral-rated shares ticked up to $9. The consensus is $8.98 for now. The stock closed on Tuesday at $9.55, which was up a whopping 23% after big numbers were posted and profitability projected.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform and cut its $100 target price to $85. Truist Financial reiterated it at Buy but lowered its target price to $90 from $95. Wedbush stayed with an Outperform rating, and its $100 target price dropped to $85. The consensus target is $98.28 for now. The stock closed down over 12% on Tuesday at $65.90, despite earnings that beat estimates.
PRA Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PRAA): Truist Financial lowered its $50 target price to $42 while keeping a Buy rating intact. The consensus target is $46.67. The shares closed on Tuesday at $23.95, down a sharp 30% due to a first-quarter loss.

Shoals Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SHLS): Northland Capital upgraded the shares from Market Perform to Outperform with a $30 target price. The consensus target is $30.71 for now. Tuesday’s close at $24.11 was a gain of 22% for the day, thanks to huge quarterly numbers.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Though DZ Bank downgraded the stock to Sell from Hold, it raised its $47 target price to $55. The consensus target is $57.78. Tuesday’s close was at $63.89.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): The BMO Capital Markets downgrade was to Market Perform from Outperform. Its $140 target price shrank to $100, well below the $126.68 consensus target. Tuesday’s closing share price was $99.82, down over 5% for the day after the company lowered its outlook for the current quarter.

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $415 target price. The consensus target is $409.47. Tuesday’s close was at $355.25.

TaskUs Inc. (NASDAQ: TASK): BofA Securities downgraded the shares to Underperform from Buy and slashed its $25 target price to $11. The consensus target is $22.75. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Tuesday at $11.90.

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Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT): The $159 Truist Financial target price on the Buy-rated stock ticked up to $160. The consensus target is higher at $164.75. The stock closed on Tuesday at $152.98.

XPO Inc. (NYSE: XPO): Though Stifel downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, it bumped the target price up to $51 from $48. The consensus target is $53.05. Tuesday’s close was at $47.27.

With demand likely to explode later this year, investors who step into the energy sector now could be in for some sizable total return potential. Five outstanding master limited partnerships are major players in the energy infrastructure arena and their stocks are Buy rated across Wall Street.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Albemarle, Alcoa, American Airlines, Coinbase Global, DraftKings, Dropbox, Fortinet, Monster Beverage, Monster Beverage, Snowflake, Southwest Airlines, Walt Disney and XPO.

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Stocks started out the week looking for direction. Despite last Friday’s selling pressure, the major indexes remain close to all-time highs, even as the coronavirus numbers grow. Many investors have yet to make any major changes to their holdings after the incredible gains from 2019. This is an election year with much at stake, and strategists are largely calling for single-digit percentage gains in 2020.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. our goal is to try to find new ideas for traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while some calls cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

We have provided these analyst calls in a quick-hit summary for easy reading, and additional comments and trading data have been added on many of the calls. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Monday, February 10, 2020.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $104 from $96 at Mizuho. Shares closed up almost 6% at $92.29 on Friday, with a $95.42 prior consensus target price.

Air Products & Chemicals (NYSE: APD) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Akero Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRO) was started as Buy with a $36 target price (versus a $26.009 prior close) at Canaccord Genuity.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Buy with a $400 price target by Wedbush Securities, but the firm noted that a delay in production resumption at Foxconn due to the coronavirus would act as a shock to the system and result in supply chain disruption further for iPhone and AirPods production.

Aramark Corp. (NYSE: ARMK) was started with a Sell rating and a $39 target price (versus a $40.77 close) at Citigroup. It had a $48.31 consensus target price and a 52-week trading range of $25.49 to $47.22.

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ARCH) was started with a Buy rating at Benchmark. After closing down 3.1% at $55.69 on Friday, its shares were down almost 4% more at $53.50 in early trading indications on Monday. The prior consensus target price was $93.67.

Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GOOS) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen, and Goldman Sachs also downgraded it, to Neutral from Buy. The stock closed down almost 4.4% at $31.84 on Friday, with a $32.90 consensus target price.

Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the parent company of shoe brands UGG and Hoka One One is seeing soaring sales. Its shares most recently closed at $191.38 and have a consensus price target of $209.82.

Domtar Corp. (NYSE: UFS) was raised to Market Perform with a $36 target price (versus a $33.83 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $187 target price (versus a $155.66 close) at UBS. FedEx has a $170.72 consensus target price.

F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $160 target price (versus a $123.58 close) at Needham. Its consensus target price was $149.77.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was maintained as Overweight but the target price was lowered to $11 from $12 (versus an $8.11 close) at Morgan Stanley.

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Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB) was reiterated as Neutral with a $45 target price (versus a $50.56 close) at Wedbush, which noted that the company is seeing some stabilization but that it is also still very competitive with a lot of work ahead.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo. Its shares closed up 2.8% at $92.63 on Friday, with a $103.29 consensus target price.

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said comps continue to fall at this department store chain. Shares last closed at $43.80, with a consensus price target of $47.19.

MPLX L.P. (NYSE: MPLX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse. It closed down 1.5% at $23.00 a share on Friday, with a $32.06 consensus target price.

New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: NYCB) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $13 target price (versus an $11.13 close) at Sandler Piper.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $300 from $250 at RBC Capital Markets. Shares closed down 1% at $251.59 on Friday, with a $249.78 consensus target price.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) was reiterated as Buy with a $164 target price (versus a $116.67 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, with the firm noting that the purchase of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises increases Royal Caribbean’s exposure to luxury and expedition segments.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was started with an Outperform rating and a $142 target price at Wells Fargo. It closed down 3.25 at $113.94 on Friday, with a $129.38 consensus target price.

Stitch Fix Inc. (NASDAQ: SFIX) was reiterated as Buy with a $38 target price (versus a $23.43 close) at SunTrust, with the firm seeing a faster rollout of “Shop Your Looks” and that it could accelerate revenue in the second half of 2020. The shares have a consensus target price of $30.54 and a 52-week trading range of $16.999 to $37.72.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Wells Fargo. Shares closed down 4.4% at $42.53 on Friday and were indicated down 3.3% at $41.11 on Monday morning.

Zions Bancorp. (NASDAQ: ZION) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Cardinal Health, Domino’s, FedEx, Ford, General Electric, Grubhub, HSBC, Marvell Technology, Twitter, Uber and many more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AbbVie, Apple, Arch Coal, FedEx, Ford, GM, Nvidia, Skyworks, Stitch Fix, WWE and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were indicated higher on Wednesday after a strong preliminary jobs report from ADP. While the U.S. indexes are effectively at all-time highs, many investors have seen lower upside from buying on market pullbacks than in prior years. Now the investing community has to consider how to position their investments for the rest of 2018 and 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, but some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, October 3, 2018.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) was maintained as Overweight at Barclays, but the firm cut its price target to $108 from $110. The 52-week range is $80.95 to $103.59 and the consensus price target is $108.70.

BankUnited Inc. (NYSE: BKU) was maintained as Overweight at Barclays, but the firm lowered its price target to $45 from $49. The 52-week range is $32.34 to $44.97 and the consensus price target is $44.68.

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $11 from $9 (versus a $9.35 prior close) at JMP Securities. The 52-week range is $6.28 to $11.09 and the consensus price target is $10.50.

Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $166 price target (versus a $137.05 close) at Oppenheimer. The 52-week range is $97.81 to $138.49 and the consensus price target is $168.93.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was lowered to $55 from $58 (versus a $41.71 close) at Wells Fargo. Halliburton was indicated up 0.6% at $41.97 on Wednesday, and it had a consensus target price of $51.67.

Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM) was maintained as Equal Weight and the price target was lowered to $59 from $60 at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week range is $47.94 to $74.94 and the consensus price target is $74.94.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) was maintained as Equal Weight and the price target was lowered to $95 from $98 at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week range is $77.14 to $104.20 and the consensus price target is $113.73.

Neovasc Inc. (NASDAQ: NVCN) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $3 from $2 at Leerink. Shares closed down 10.7% at $2.25 on Tuesday, but its shares were up 22% at $2.75 on Wednesday on news of positive follow-up data on patients implanted with a Neovasc Reducer.

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Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC. Shares closed down 2% at $82.77 on Tuesday and were indicated down about 0.6% more at $82.26 on Wednesday morning. The consensus target price was last seen at $87.69.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was maintained as Equal Weight and the price target was lowered to $100 from $105 at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week range is $84.35 to $125.93 and the consensus price target is $109.06.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) was maintained as Hold at Deutsche Bank after its earnings report, but the firm lowered Pepsi’s price target to $116 from $118. BMO maintained its Market Perform rating but lowered its target to $109 from $110, and Citigroup maintained its Neutral rating while lowering its target to $116 from $118.

Repligen Corp. (NASDAQ: RGEN) was reiterated as Buy at Janney, which raised its fair value estimate to $70 from $56 (versus a $55.69 close) after news that the recent partnership with Sartorius Stedim opens a significant share of the global bioreactor market for the company.

Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $95 from $80 at Barclays. The 52-week range is $47.75 to $84.13 and the consensus price target is $86.09.

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Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was reiterated as Underweight but the price target was lowered to $79 from $80 (versus a $91.88 close) at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week range is $83.05 to $117.65 and the consensus price target is $117.71.

Tempur Sealy International Inc. (NYSE: TPX) was raised to Neutral from Sell and the target price was raised to $55 from $45 at UBS. The stock was down almost 2% at $48.38 on Tuesday, but its shares were higher by 11.6% at $53.99 on Wednesday after reports that the Mattress Firm’s bankruptcy looks imminent.

Viper Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: VNOM) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $51 price target (versus a $43.00 close) at Oppenheimer. The 52-week range is $18.02 to $43.31 and the consensus price target is $42.93.

Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL) was started as Outperform and assigned a $67 target price. Shares closed down 2.5% at $53.14 on Tuesday but were indicated up 2.8% at $54.60 on Wednesday. The consensus analyst target is $59.21.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls were in Boston Scientific, Etsy, General Electric, Morgan Stanley, SeaWorld, Skechers, Shopify, Square, Tesla and many more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Analog Devices, Halliburton, Neovasc, Nike, NXP, PepsiCo, Skyworks, Whiting Petroleum and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks surged on Friday’s strong payrolls report, but that only recaptured some of Thursday’s more than 600-point drop in the Dow Jones industrials. Investors have become used to the notion that buying the sell-offs comes with less reward, or even more losses, than in prior years. This makes it more difficult to position assets for the long haul when so many stop-loss levels are triggered.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday, January 4, 2019.

Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and the target price was lowered to $64 from $84 (versus a $67.97 prior close) at Robert W. Baird.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was reiterated as Neutral with a $15 price target at Wedbush Securities. Sadly, the firm also noted that there remains more downside than upside risk to consensus expectations ahead of next week’s earnings indications. Even with years of the same issue, the retail giant is said to still suffer from competitive pressures in the home furnishings category at low-priced online and offline retailers.

Catalyst Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: CBIO) was started as Outperform with a $24 price target (versus an $8.77 close) at Oppenheimer. Its 52-week range is $6.20 to $37.00.

CBOE Global Markets Inc. (CBOE) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $120 price target and added to the prized Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs.

Coty Inc. (NYSE: COTY) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $32 from $34 (versus a $28.32 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Edison International (NYSE: EIX) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $63 price target at Goldman Sachs.

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $54 from $46 (versus a $46.03 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $42 price target at Goldman Sachs.

Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $140 from $125 (versus a $108.52 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $60 price objective at Merrill Lynch. The upgrade is based on higher margin businesses like data centers and noting that the concerns about business are overblown. Shares have a 52-week range of $42.04 to $57.60 and a consensus target price of $54.34.

Masco Corp. (NYSE: MAS) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a$36 price objective at Merrill Lynch.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was reiterated as Buy with a whopping $400 price target at Goldman Sachs. The firm noted that Netflix is one of the most compelling names in the internet space and added it to the prized Conviction Buy List on Friday, now that shares have lost more than one-third of their value since last summer.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $7.50 from $5.00 at BMO Capital Markets. Nokia’s American depositary shares were indicated up over 3% at $5.77 on Friday, with a 52-week range of $4.75 to $6.41.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim. Shares were indicated up over 2% at $381.00 Friday morning, with a consensus target price of $428.33 and a 52-week range of $281.89 to $416.49.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $70 from $100 at Nomura/Instinet.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was slashed to $6 from $10 at Goldman Sachs. Shares closed at $5.68 on Thursday, and the 52-week range is $4.82 to $21.22.

Southwestern Energy Co. (NYSE: SWN) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

United Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UTX) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and the price target was cut to $119 from $139 at RBC Capital Markets. UTC closed at $103.48 on Thursday. The 52-week range is $100.48 to $144.15.

Virtu Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: VIRT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) was started with an Overweight rating and assigned a $14 price target (versus an $8.71 close) at Stephens. The 52-week range is $7.92 to $14.73.

Dana Inc. (NYSE: DAN) and Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA) were both raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Thursday’s top analyst calls included AbbVie, Agilent Technologies, Albermarle, Apple, Boeing, Cheniere Energy, First Solar, HCA, LabCorp, Lumber Liquidators, Teva Pharmaceutical and many more.

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Stocks were indicated to open higher on Wednesday after Tuesday’s gains. The stock major’s market indexes are still up well into the double-digit percentages year to date, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are still within striking distance of new all-time highs. Investors need to be considering how they want their portfolios positioned for the rest of the year and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new trading and investing ideas for our readers. Some of the daily analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary and trading data have been added on some of the daily analyst reports. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv (Thomson Reuters) sell-side research service.

In a special note at the end, Merrill Lynch started coverage of the legalized cannabis industry. But here are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, April 17, 2019.

Aquestive Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AQST) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $31 from $30 (versus a $6.09 prior close) at Wedbush Securities. The call is after the company announced that the FDA has accepted its new drug application for its Exservan as an oral soluble film formulation of riluzole for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date was set as November 30, 2019.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. Bank of America closed at $29.88, with a 52-week range of $22.66 to $31.91. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $33.17.

CDW Corp. (NASDAQ: CDW) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

Children’s Place Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE) was started with a Hold rating Deutsche Bank.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. Chipotle closed down 0.8% at $706.48 and was indicated down another 1.2% at $698.00 on Wednesday as this call noted that the valuation has gotten ahead of itself based on the huge performance seen in 2019. Chipotle closed at $706.48, with a 52-week range of $326.00 to $721.21. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $591.08.

Chubb Ltd. (NYSE: CB) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, and Raymond James also downgraded it, to Outperform from Strong Buy.

Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $174 from $136 (versus a $128.18 close) at Janney. The firm took a deeper look at the acquisition of GE’s bioproduction unit and believes that this acquisition of GE Life Science appears to be more compelling than expected and that Danaher will now have the widest product portfolio in the bioproduction industry, and that it also will have a combined customer list that can drive revenues and margins higher.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, sending its shares up about 2% to $260.90 in Wednesday’s early-bird trading.

D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.

Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) was started with a Neutral rating at Susquehanna, with the firm noting that Lyft investors should be concerned about industry dynamics and with the company’s position as the number-two player behind Uber. Lyft closed at $56.25, with a post-IPO range of $55.56 to $88.60. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $74.00.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was up 3% at $359.46 ahead of earnings and was up another 3% at $371.00 afterward. Deutsche Bank raised it Buy from Hold and raised the price target to $400 from $360.

Organogenesis Holdings Inc. ((NASDAQ: ORGO) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned an $11 target price (versus a $7.90 close) at Oppenheimer.

Performance Food Group Co. (NYSE: PFGC) was started as Buy at Merrill Lynch. Performance Food Group closed at $40.69, with a 52-week range of $28.05 to $40.80. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $40.82.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: PNFP) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy but the price target was raised to $120 from $101 (versus a $106.81 close) at UBS. The firm noted that PayPal is unlikely to get a big boost out of Venmo in the short term as the revenue growth is still leading peers but with limited contribution to revenue and earnings in the next couple of years.

Principia Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: PRNB) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $45 price target (versus a $29.11 close) at Stifel.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) surged 23% to close at $70.45 after settling its monster case with Apple on Tuesday, and shares were up another $8 on Wednesday morning. JPMorgan raised it to Overweight from Neutral and Stifel raised it to Buy from Hold. Also, Evercore ISI raised Qualcomm to Outperform from In-Line.

Rubicon Project Inc. (NASDAQ: RUBI) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $9 price target (versus a $6.01 close) at B. Riley FBR. Rubicon Project closed at $6.01, with a 52-week range of $1.96 to $7.00. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $7.50.

Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE: SHAK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Longbow Research.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie.

SM Energy Co. (NYSE: SM) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.

Tech Data Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD) was downgraded to Hold From Buy by Stifel.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) was started with an Overweight rating and assigned a $75 target price at Stephens.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was maintained as Outperform but the price target lowered to $400 from $465 at Robert W. Baird. The firm noted that Tesla’s first-quarter deliveries were disappointing and not sufficient enough to improve its negative sentiment.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Longbow Research.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) was started with an Outperform rating at Bernstein.

Total System Services Inc. (NYSE: TSS) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $115 target price (versus a $98.77 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Tri Pointe Group Inc. (NYSE: TPH) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.

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Merrill Lynch started coverage of the legalized cannabis industry with a mostly positive view. Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE: CGC) and Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) were started with Buy ratings. HEXO Corp. (NYSE: HEXO) also was started as Buy but was called Merrill Lynch’s most attractive cannabis stock, with huge upside to its cash flows. Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) was started with an Underperform rating, and while the firm agrees with the Cronos cannabinoid development strategy, with potentially the highest margins with Altria, it is difficult to recommend the stock based on its current valuations. Expanded coverage with more detail is available.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included BP, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Cisco Systems, Dow, Ensco, Hess, Micron Technology, Netflix, Sunoco and many more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: BofA, Danaher, Lyft, Netflix, Qualcomm, Tesla, Texas Instruments, Aurora Cannabis, Canopy Growth, Chipotle and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The world has had its share of great health and civil concerns in 2020, but consumers are still quite eager to get 5G finally rolled out. Investors have been focused on many of the potential 5G winners, and one company in that mix has been Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS). Independent research firm Argus has keyed on its prospects with much higher upside potential than most of Wall Street expects.

Argus reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $146 from $112. That is handily above the consensus analyst price target of $119.13, and it is still more than 10% upside from the current price.

While Argus provides independent research and is free from any traditional conflicts of interest, 24/7 Wall St. would again remind readers that no single analyst report should ever be used as the sole basis for deciding to buy or sell a stock.

The report considers Skyworks well positioned in its mobile solutions business as the 5G device launch season approaches this fall. Argus also sees Skyworks generating sequential momentum in its broader markets business, and the easing of restrictions on doing business with Huawei also may help the company. All in all, Argus sees revenue growth supporting margin expansion.

One issue that Argus did bring up, and the reason for not even more upside, is that the firm had upgraded its rating from under $90. The key here is the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) 5G iPhone launch (the iPhone 12, that is), which is now expected in late 2020. The report also noted that a teardown analysis of recent models (including iPhone 11) shows that Skyworks has a strong presence and the firm expects that it will grow its so-called dollar share per device.

While the growth will start at some point in the fourth quarter, Argus really sees a strong 5G device cycle picking up into 2021.

Skyworks has not been immune to the woes of the world. In its last report, the company posted a 5% decline in sales and a 9% decline in earnings per share. The company also joined the rank and file of other companies by withdrawing its guidance due to so much uncertainty, and it was cautious about the coming quarter with disruptions in the demand side of the equation and disruptions in the supply chain.

The key point here for additional upside is that Skyworks’ market position and customer relations are intact and the company is positioned to win with the global demand recovery that is expected in the coming quarters.

Given the report, and keeping some of the cautious aspects that the great recovery has been seen, note that Skyworks easily could have been included in the top stocks to win on 5G.

While the ties of the recent share performance may be owed to Apple, Argus sees Skyworks as attractive. Not all investors agree on 5G’s upside, and a top carrier saw its shares suffer under attacks on its 5G. Another view showed how Apple will benefit from the 5G wave.

Shares of Skyworks were trading down 0.8% at $129.75 on Thursday morning, and its 52-week range is $67.90 to $138.22.

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The post Skyworks May Now Be the Top 5G Stock to Buy for Apple’s 5G iPhone Launch appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks managed a very strong recovery on Monday that was not an easy rally to explain, and Tuesday’s stock index indications were strong yet again as the election day is finally here. Similar to Monday, it seems the cyclical, materials and value stocks were shining brighter than the tech leaders that have done so well in 2020.

Many investors missed out on the recovery from March’s panic selling. Now those same investors are looking for new ideas about how to be positioned after the election and heading into 2021.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $268 from $263 at D.A. Davidson. The stock closed up over 4% at $216.03 on Monday and was indicated up another 1.1% at $218.50 on Tuesday.

Editas Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ: EDIT) was started with an Underperform rating at Robert W. Baird. The stock closed up 1.1% at $31.30 a share on Monday and was indicated down 3% at $30.35 on Tuesday. The company reports earnings in just two days.

EverQuote Inc. (NASDAQ: EVER) was maintained as Outperform and its target price was lowered to $55 from $65 at Oppenheimer. The stock closed up 3.2% at $34.58 a share on Monday, with a $61.71 consensus target price.

Genpact Ltd. (NYSE: G) was maintained as Buy but its price target was cut to $45 from $48 at Needham. The stock closed up 3.75% at $35.66 on Monday and has a $47.22 consensus target price.

Greenhill & Co. Inc. (NYSE: GHL) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods, which also cut its target price to $11.50 from $13.00. Shares closed up 1% at $13.06 on Monday and were indicated down almost 5% at $12.45 on Tuesday.

Hookipa Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOK) was started as Buy and a $21 price target (versus a $9.40 prior close) at Truist Securities.

Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM) was raised to Buy from Hold and its target price was raised to $14 from $12 (versus a $10.45 prior close) at Truist Securities. It has a $13.36 consensus target price.

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Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Sector Outperform at ScotiaBank.

NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ: NICE) was started with a Buy rating and a $280 price objective at BofA Securities. The stock closed up 0.6% at $229.60 on Monday with a $239.27 consensus target price.

PayPal Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) closed up almost 0.9% at $187.76 on Monday ahead of earnings and the post-earnings reaction was down 5.2% at $177.90 on Tuesday morning. Truist Securities maintained its Hold rating but cut its price target to $200 from $215. Wedbush Securities reiterated its Outperform rating and maintained its $220 price target. Rosenblatt maintained it as Buy but cut its target from $250 to $280. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating but trimmed its target to $215 from $230.

Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SBH) was maintained as Outperform but its target price was cut to $16 from $19 at Oppenheimer. Shares closed up 5.6% at $8.84 apiece on Monday, and they have a $14.06 consensus target price.

Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna. Its shares closed down 3.75% at $30.52 on Monday and were indicated up almost 1% on Tuesday. The stock previously had a $40.92 consensus target price.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was up 0.6% at $142.12 ahead of earnings and was indicated to open down around $141.75 on Tuesday. Needham reiterated it as Buy and raised its target to $200 from $170, and Wells Fargo reiterated it as Overweight and its raised target from $155 to $165. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $170 from $160. Raymond James reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target from $155 to $170, and Mizuho reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $174 from $170.

SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer. The stock closed up almost 4% at $267.72 on Monday, but shares of the high-beta solar inverters player were indicated down 19% at $216.00 after the company missed sales estimates and had weaker than expected guidance.

Vericel Corp. (NASDAQ: VCEL) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said restoring cartilage in sports medicine and rebuilding skin after severe burns give this small-cap big upside. Shares most recently closed at $19.08 and have a consensus price target of $26.48.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) closed up 2.5% at $110.67 on Monday and was indicated up 1.15 at $111.85 on Tuesday after its earnings report. Oppenheimer reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $128 from $123. Raymond James reiterated it as Outperform and lifted its price target to $120 from $114.

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Markets were somewhat mixed on Wednesday, but the Nasdaq was the top dog as tech stocks were leading the charge higher. The Dow Jones lagged the rest of the major averages. Inflation concerns are still a large factor in the direction of the markets but with earnings season incoming investors may be more focused on third quarter profits.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing some big analyst calls seen on Wednesday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day were on Constellation Brands, Plug Power, Workday and more.

Berkeley Lights, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLI): Berenberg initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $42 price target. Shares were trading near $22 on Tuesday, and the analysts’ consensus target is $73.00.

DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (NYSE: DD): Mizuho started with a Buy rating and a $94 price target. The 52-week trading range is $55.23 to $87.27, and the share price is near $70.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST): Jefferies downgraded to a Hold rating from Buy and cut the price target to $92 from $113. Shares were last seen trading around $85. They have a consensus price target of $106.55.

Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE: SIG): BofA Securities upgraded to a Neutral rating from Underperform and raised the price target to $88 from $82. The 52 week range is $20.88 to $88.83, and the share price is roughly $84.

Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): Robert Baird downgraded to a Neutral rating from Outperform and cut the price target to $165 from $220. Shares were last seen near $155 apiece. The consensus price target is $212.36.

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W): Jefferies downgraded to a Hold rating from Buy and cut the price target to $225 from $330. Shares were trading near $234 on Tuesday, and the consensus price target is $323.17.

Five dividend-paying sin stocks look like outstanding values now and may be just the ticket for worried investors not bothered by these industries. The stocks are all rated Buy and should hold up well in a swift sell-off and in a protracted bear market.

Wednesday’s early meme stock movers included Camber Energy, ESS and Vinco Ventures.

The post Wednesday Afternoon Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Monster Beverage, Signet Jewelers, Skyworks, Wayfair and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

The futures were lower after a brutal risk-off day for investors that saw all the major indexes down big. The Nasdaq was torched the most, down a stunning 5.16%. This all came after the inflation numbers for August came out much higher than expected, despite falling gasoline prices. This huge and unexpected data dump assures that the Federal Reserve will raise the federal funds rate another 75 basis points next week at its September meeting. It also signals that any Fed pivot toward softening their war against inflation is way off in the 2023 distance.

Interest rates soared across the Treasury curve, with shorter maturities getting pounded the most on Tuesday. The yield on the five-year note spiked 13 basis points as the security hit a 52-week high. The two-year and 10-year inversion stayed in place, while widening, with the former up 17 basis points to close at 3.75% (the highest level in 15 years), while the last print for the latter was 3.42%. Bond mavens see the inversion as a recession warning sign.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were both modestly lower on the day. Energy has sold off over the past 90 days on global recession worries. So much appears to have been discounted, as the benchmark pricings barely moved on the massive inflation blowout. Natural gas continued its move higher, closing near $8.30. Gold traded lower, while Bitcoin was down almost 10% on the extreme stock market weakness.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, September 14, 2022.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the legacy biotech giant and has a $290 price target. The consensus target is $253.12. The stock closed almost 5% lower on Tuesday at $226.86.

AnaptysBio Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAB): Truist Financial downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and chopped the $50 price target to $28. The consensus target is $32.43. The shares closed down over 8% on Tuesday at $23.64.

AppLovin Corp. (NYSE: APP): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $45 target. The consensus target is up at $56.93. The shares closed Tuesday at $26.68, down close to 7% for the day.

Blue Owl Capital Inc. (NYSE: OWL): Deutsche Bank started coverage with a Buy rating and a $19 target price. The consensus target is $15.13. The stock was last seen on Tuesday trading at $11.05.
CNO Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: CNO): RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $25 target price. The consensus target is $21.20. The stock closed on Tuesday at $18.76.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating with a $43 target price. The consensus target is higher at $54.99. The shares closed on Tuesday at $38.30, down almost 5% on the day.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW): Jefferies downgraded the industrial giant to Hold from Buy and slashed the $71 price target to $45. The consensus target is $58.43. The shares closed down over 6% on Tuesday at $47.87.

EPAM Systems Inc. (NYSE: EPAM): KeyBanc Capital Markets started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $510 target. The consensus target is $490.08. Tuesday’s close was at $421.40.

ESAB Corp. (NYSE: ESAB): Baird initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $53 price objective. The consensus target is $51.67. The stock closed on Tuesday at $39.77.

Globant S.A. (NYSE: GLOB): KeyBanc Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $291 target price. The consensus target is $281.70. The stock closed on Tuesday at $223.90.

Health Catalyst Inc. (NASDAQ: HCAT): Piper Sandler lowered its Overweight rating to Neutral and cut the $21 target price to $11. The consensus target is $18.64. The stock closed almost 7% lower on Tuesday at $10.72.

Informatica Inc. (NYSE: INFA): FBN Securities started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $35 target price. The consensus target is $26. The stock closed on Tuesday at $21.50.

LSB Industries Inc. (NYSE: LXU): Piper Sandler started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $26 price target. The consensus target is $23.32. The stock closed on Tuesday at $17.03, up over 6% for the day on the upgrade.

Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL): BNP Paribas started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $62 target. That compares with a $75.31 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $48.02, which was down almost 5% on the day.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating on the chip giant and has a $162 target price. The consensus target is up at $202.09. The stock was last seen Tuesday trading at $131.31, down close to 10% for the day.

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ReneSola Ltd (NYSE: SOL): Northland Capital started covering the stock with an Outperform rating and an $8 price target. The consensus target is $10.67, and Tuesday’s close was at $5.64.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG): KeyBanc Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $59 target price. The higher $91.92 consensus target also compares with Tuesday’s closing print of $45.12.

Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating with an $11 target price. The consensus target is $11.76. The stock closed on Tuesday at $10.41.
Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Citing a shift in investor sentiment and a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, Zacks selected this as the Bear of the Day stock. The shares have traded as high as $176.29 in the past year but closed most recently at $32.70. That is down more than 76% year to date.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): Exane BNP Paribas initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $120 target price. The consensus target is higher at $137.57. Tuesday’s close was at $97.88.

SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI): The BofA Securities upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price bump to $9 from $8. The consensus target is $8.54. The stock closed almost 9% lower on Tuesday at $5.84.

Steven Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO): Loop Capital downgraded the popular footwear and accessories stock from Buy to Hold with a $30 target. The consensus target is $40.71 for now. The stock closed Tuesday at $28.96, down almost 8%, likely on the bad tape and the downgrade.

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): KeyBanc Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Overweight rating. Its $96 price target is lower than the $140.81 consensus target. The $70.87 close on Tuesday was down over 6% for the day.

WESCO International Inc. (NYSE: WCC): Oppenheimer reiterated its Outperform rating with a $175 target price. The consensus target is $173.67. The shares were last seen on Tuesday trading at $137.98.

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Wipro Ltd. (NYSE: WIT): Goldman Sachs raised its Sell rating to Buy and has an odd $4.87 price target. The consensus target is $5.05. The stock closed on Tuesday at $5.12.

Wolfspeed Inc. (NYSE: WOLF): Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $155 target price. The consensus target is just $114.97. The stock closed at $113.98 on Tuesday.

Given the expected surge in market volatility in October, seven safe dividend-paying stocks from the Goldman Sachs Conviction List of top picks may be the way for investors to go for now.

Another key analyst names a top pick from among six outstanding tech stocks.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Adobe, Agnico Eagle Mines, Amgen, Barrick Gold, Comstock Resources, Enphase Energy, Huntsman, JD.com, Kinder Morgan, Lucid, Newmont, Okta, Starbucks, Union Pacific and Vale.

The post Wednesday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amgen, AppLovin, Dell, Dow, Marvell Technology, PayPal, RingCentral, Shopify, SoFi, Western Digital and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were looking to open higher on Wednesday morning after Tuesday’s bounce. While investors have seen numerous waves of selling in 2018, they also have seen lower upside after buying immediately after the big market sell-offs than in prior years. Now investors have to be considering how they want their investments and assets positioned for 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets mentioned and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, November 28, 2018.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) was started with a Buy rating and assigned an $83 price target at UBS in a broader health care initiation. Shares closed up 1.3% at $69.71 on Tuesday, and the consensus target price is $78.94.

Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $45 target price (versus a $35.26 prior close) at UBS. It has a 52-week range of $24.54 to $39.44 and a consensus price target of $42.29.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, but the firm did raise its target price up to $204 from $185. Shares closed up 1.3% at $194.15 on Tuesday and were indicated to open flat on Wednesday. CME has a 52-week range of $143.68 to $197.08 and a consensus price target of $195.50.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $70 price target (versus a $62.68 close) at Raymond James.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $112 price target (versus a $93.13 close) at UBS. The consensus target is roughly $104, and the 52-week range is $76.41 to $100.15.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight and its target price was maintained at $76 (versus a $70.67 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Spirit Airlines Inc. (NYSE: SAVE) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its target price was raised to $82 from $59 (versus a $58.76 close) at JPMorgan. This was after a 15% gain from a strong revenue outlook. The 52-week range is $34.36 to $62.01.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) both traded up over 2% in early indications on Wednesday. Mizuho’s Vijay Rakesh talked up rebounding GPU prices. AMD was down about 40% from its peak and Nvidia was down about 47% from its peak coming into this call.

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Other key analyst calls from this Wednesday were seen as follows:

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) was maintained as Buy at Argus, but the firm lowered its target price to $106 from $115 following its third-quarter results. The 52-week range is $86.77 to $105.36, and the consensus price target is $107.40.

Aspen Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: AZPN) was raised to Buy from Hold and its price target was maintained at $100 (versus an $80.05 close) at Canaccord Genuity. The 52-week range is $65.03 to $118.86, and the consensus price target is $105.17.
Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) was started with a Buy rating and assigned an $80 price target (versus a $65.96 close) at UBS.

Becton Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX) was started with a Neutral rating at UBS. The 52-week range is $209.91 to $265.87, and the consensus price target is $267.19.

Chesapeake Utilities Corp. (NYSE: CPK) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $100 target price (versus an $81.57 close) at Maxim Group.

DexCom Inc. (NASDAQ: DXCM) was started with a Neutral rating at UBS in a broader health care sector call. The 52-week range is $51.04 to $152.14, and the consensus price target is $151.63.

Eaton Vance Corp. (NYSE: EV) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. The a 52-week range is $40.40 to $60.95, and the consensus price target is $49.31.

Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HRC) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $115 price target (versus a $93.44 close) at UBS.

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) was started as Neutral with a $540 price target at UBS in a health care sector call.

On Deck Capital Inc. (NYSE: ONDK) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $11 from $9 (versus a $7.13 close) at UBS.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $19 price target at Argus. The 52-week range is $15.42 to $20.21, and the consensus price target is $19.60.

Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. (NASDAQ: TNDM) was started with a Neutral rating at UBS in a broader sector call. The 52-week range is $2.14 to $52.55, and the consensus price target is $52.50.

Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse, but the firm maintained its estimates and $125 target price. The 52-week range is $102.13 to $187.47, and the consensus price target is $138.25.

YY Inc. (NASDAQ: YY) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. The 52-week range is $56.65 to $142.97, and the consensus price target is $97.02.

Credit Suisse made some industry calls that may have a broader spillover if they get noticed. The firm feels that U.S. steel prices have nowhere to go but down, with the capacity overhang having worsened. In semiconductors, Credit Suisse noted some support having been found, but it feels it’s too early to call a hard bottom yet.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Athenahealth, Apple, Deere, Hormel, JinkoSolar, Micron Technology, U.S. Bancorp, Walt Disney and many more.

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Markets turned lower on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq again leading the charge lower, down around 70 basis points. The S&P 500 saw a marginal loss, while the Dow Jones industrials were just breaking even. This all came after another revision to first-quarter gross domestic product was released, and things are not looking that great on the economic front.

Real GDP decreased at an annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2022, according to the third estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Wednesday morning. Ultimately, this estimate is based on more complete source data than was the prior estimate from last month that forecast a decline of 1.5%.

The update primarily reflects a downward revision to personal consumption expenditures (PCE) that was partly offset by an upward revision to private inventory investment. According to this most recent revision in GDP, the PCE price index increased 7.1%, compared with an increase of 6.4%. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 5.2%.

Also note that the PCE price index data is due out Thursday morning, and this index is what the Fed likes to use to gauge inflation. So, depending how these numbers line up, they easily could influence Fed policy.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Wednesday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day were on Airbnb, CSX, McDonald’s, Nike, Oracle and more.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform and has a $320 price target. The 52-week trading range is $268.17 to $417.37, and shares traded above $277 apiece on Wednesday.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO): The Barclays downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight included a price target cut to $36 from $53. The 52-week trading range is $41.00 to $57.05, and shares traded above $42 apiece on Wednesday.

Bath & Body Works Inc. (NYSE: BBWI): J.P. Morgan lowered its Overweight rating to Neutral and cut the $63 price target to $30. The stock traded near $28 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $27.89 to $82.00.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO): BofA Securities downgraded the shares to Underperform from Neutral, and the $125 price target fell to $95. The 52-week trading range is $91.91 to $201.46. The stock traded near $95 on Wednesday.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL): Barclays initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $56 price target. The stock traded near $38 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $34.10 to $98.27.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): BofA Securities downgraded it to Underperform from Neutral and cut the price target from $130 to $105. The 52-week trading range is $88.76 to $197.62, and shares were trading near $92 on Wednesday.

Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform and raised the $325 price target to $360. The shares traded near $304 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $255.02 to $377.60.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN): The BofA Securities downgrade was from Buy to Neutral with a $175 price target. The 52-week range is $149.10 to $202.26. Shares traded near $152 apiece on Wednesday.

Five stock picks from the Goldman Sachs Conviction List offer huge upside potential for aggressive investors with longer time horizons and a higher risk tolerance. Two of them are blue-chip sector leaders that are solid ideas for more conservative growth investors as well.

Wells Fargo warns investors on Carnival and other stocks.

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The futures were lower, as Wall Street returns from the long holiday weekend after a shortened trading week that saw the major indexes close higher last Thursday. With the March jobs report out of the way, which actually came in above estimates on Friday, all eyes will turn to earnings reports, which begin in earnest this week with the financial giants on Friday.

Analysts will be watching closely for how companies performed during the first quarter and likely will be even more keen to get direction and guidance for the second quarter and the balance of the year. You can bet that lousy numbers and bad forecasts could trigger some big selling.

After a week of buying that drove yields down across the Treasury curve, yields were flat to slightly higher on Friday, as the bond market was open. The two-year note saw its first move higher in six sessions, closing the week at 3.99%, after hitting the lowest level last week since September of last year. The benchmark 10-year closed at 3.29%. The 70-basis-point inversion still suggests recession is on the way.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed modestly higher on Friday, after a solid week that saw both jump 6% on the OPEC production cut. Toss in some big inventory draws, and the black gold may be set up for a strong move higher. Natural gas was a loser, closing down almost 7% at $2.01.

Gold finished the day slightly lower, after a strong week that saw the bullion finish back over the $2,000 level at $2,018. Central banks around the world keep buying gold, following on last year’s record buying, where banks bought gold at the fastest pace since 1967. Bitcoin closed up at $27,933.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, April 10, 2023.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): UBS reiterated a Buy rating and bumped its $120 target price to $123. The consensus target is $125.16. Thursday’s close was at $108.42, which was up almost 4% on the day.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating but cut its $135 target price to $125. The consensus target is $133.58. The stock ended Thursday trading at $102.06.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): Raymond James upgraded the bank to Strong Buy from Outperform. Yet it also cut its $84 target price to $57, below the $68.96 consensus target. The shares closed up over 3% on Thursday at $41.28.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): D.A. Davidson initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $70 target price. The consensus target is up at $102.38. The shares ended last week at $65.83.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX): The Raymond James upgrade was to Outperform from Market Perform. Its $285 price target is well above the consensus target of $243.46. The stock closed on Thursday at $232.10.

Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE): Goldman Sachs lifted its Sell rating to Neutral, and its $182 price target jumped to $283. The consensus target is $281.77. The stock closed most recently at $271.94.

Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO): Zacks makes the case that its Bull of the Day is an undervalued emerging market stock poised to continue its strong momentum. The shares last closed at $8.82 and have a consensus price target of $10.75, which represents almost a 22% gain.

KLA Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the chip equipment giant to Neutral from Outperform. Its $435 target price compares with a $432.05 consensus target and Thursday’s close at $374.66.

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Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST): Wedbush reiterated a Neutral rating, but the analyst slashed the $103 target price to $52. The consensus target is $55.44, and Thursday’s close was at $52.56.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): When J.P. Morgan downgraded the shares Neutral from Overweight, it cut its $60 target price to $46. The consensus target is $55.17. The stock closed on Thursday at $43.67, down over 5% for the day on the downgrade.

New Relic Inc. (NYSE: NEWR): D.A. Davidson initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $100 target price. The consensus target is $82. The shares closed on Thursday at $73.79.
Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS): Raymond James started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $33 target price. The consensus target is $29.49, and t stock closed on Thursday at $28.25.

Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL): Loop Capital lifted its Hold rating to Buy, and its $395 target price rose to $415. The consensus is $395.70. Shares ended last week at $326.26.

Pure Storage Inc. (NYSE: PSTG): Wedbush upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral. Its $34 target price is less than the $35.68 consensus target, but the closing price on Thursday was $25.62 a share.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO): Stifel initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $110 target price. The consensus target is $106.73. The shares ended Thursday trading at $94.37.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): Stifel started coverage with a Buy rating and a $150 target price. The consensus target is $125.85. Thursday’s final trade was for $111.35 a share.

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Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): Though Raymond James upgraded the stock to Strong Buy from Outperform, it lowered its $52 target price to $47. The consensus target is $51.34. The stock closed on Thursday at $37.90.

Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL): Citigroup’s upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price hike to $81 from $70. The consensus target is $82.28. The stock closed on Thursday at $71.55.

Seven top value stocks of blue chip leaders that pay outsized dividends are well suited for growth and income investors during what could be an ugly rest of the spring and summer.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amgen, Arista Networks, Bloom Energy, ConocoPhillips, Fastenal, Livent, On Holding, Palo Alto Networks, SLM, UnitedHealth, Vici Properties and Zions Bancorp.

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The futures were trading mixed, as we get set to end a wild week that saw the major indexes push to levels not seen since 2022. The Dow Jones industrial average continued to storm higher on Thursday, closing up for the ninth straight session, the longest streak for the venerable index since 2017. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, which have been on fire recently, both finished the day lower as some disappointing earnings, continued high claims for unemployment and signs that the economy continues to contract were all cited as reasons for the sellers to come to the table.

Treasury yields were higher across the curve Thursday, as the sellers returned in a big way, with some maturities seeing double-digit increases. Despite the jump in yields in the Treasury complex, yields likely will end the week lower, depending on Friday’s trading. The 10-year note closed at 3.85%, while the shorter two-year paper closed Thursday at 4.84%, keeping the inversion at 99 basis points, among the widest in over 40 years.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude finished the day modestly higher, as once again the rig count in the United States fell, this week to 675, which is 81 rigs less than this time last year. Brent closed the day at $79.64, while WTI was last seen at $75.63. Natural gas had a big day, closing up over 5% at $2.74.

Gold finished Thursday lower, after a strong week, at $1971.80. The declining U.S. dollar, slowing inflation fears and rising energy prices all have provided a tailwind for the bullion this week. Bitcoin finished Thursday modestly lower at $29,724.40.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each weekday with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday, July 21, 2023.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI): UBS downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight and has a $96 target The consensus target is lower at $92.83, and Tuesday’s closing share price was $92.29. Most across Wall Street feel that the deal with Microsoft is finally all but done.

Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE: ANET): Exane BNP Paribas began coverage with an Outperform rating and $210 target price. That compares to the $168.65 consensus target and Thursday’s closing share price of $171.41.

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS): Zacks makes the case that its Bull of the Day is headed higher after earnings, while Stifel raised its Hold rating to Buy and its $210 target price to $300. Shares last closed at $238.79, and the $251.32 consensus price target would be an all-time high.

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Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA): Though RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Underperform from Sector Perform, the analyst raised the $9 target price to $30. The consensus target is $20.06. The shares closed Thursday at $46.73, which was down over 16% for the day after a recent huge short-squeeze rally that exploded the shares higher.

Catalent Inc. (NYSE: CTLT): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $43 price objective. The consensus target is up at $50.00. Thursday’s $47.58 close was up more than 2% on the day.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO): Exane BNP Paribas started coverage on the shares with an Underperform rating and a $45 target price. The $55.88 consensus target is higher, and Thursday’s closing share price was $52.37.
Diageo PLC (NYSE: DEO): Morgan Stanley downgraded the spirits giant to Underweight from Equal Weight and slashed its $186 target price to $155. The consensus target is up at $191.69. The shares closed on Thursday at $176.04.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): Stifel maintained a Buy rating on the stock and lifted its $350 target price to $450. The consensus target is $376.90, and Thursday’s closing print was $387.94.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL): As Barclays cut its Overweight rating to Equal Weight, the $210 target price dropped to $193. That compares with the $236.75 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $182.26.

Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: HST): Oppenheimer upgraded the stock to Outperform from Perform. and its target price for the shares is $21. The consensus target is $20.31. The stock closed on Thursday at $17.47.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): Wolfe Research started coverage with an Underperform rating and a $27 target price. The consensus target is $31.87. Thursday’s close was at $33.37.

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE: KOS): Redburn initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $9 target. The consensus target is $10.09. Thursday’s $6.67 close was up almost 3% for the day.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Stifel raised its $320 target price to $480 while keeping a Buy rating. The consensus target is just $364.60, and Thursday’s close was at $346.87.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Wolfe Research began coverage on the AI chip leader with an Outperform rating and a $570 target price. The consensus target is $486.15. The stock closed over 3% lower on Thursday at $455.20.

Omnicell Inc. (NASDAQ: OMCL): Wells Fargo reduced its Overweight rating to Underweight and its price target to $56 from $65. The consensus target is up at $73.25. The shares closed on Thursday at $62.87, down almost 7% for the day on the downgrade.

Prologis Inc. (NYSE: PLD): Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral and has a $141 target price. The consensus target is $142.20. On Thursday, the closing share price was $123.76.

RB Global Inc. (NYSE: RBA): The Raymond James upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform included a target price hike to $75 from $60. The consensus target is $68.14. After the upgrade, the stock closed over 2% higher on Thursday at $63.49.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): Barclays downgraded the shares from Overweight to Equal Weight with a $115 target price. The consensus target is higher at $119.13, but Thursday’s closing print was $111.48.

Five surprising technology stocks may provide an outstanding way for growth investors to join in on the AI trade without chasing some of the plays that have already made parabolic moves higher.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Airbnb, Apple, Bluebird Bio, Cinemark, Cisco Systems, Coinbase Global, Etsy, Lyft, Microsoft, QuantumScape, Redfin, Snowflake and Starbucks.

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The futures traded higher, and what a difference a day makes. After opening the week with solid gains Monday, the stock market was pounded on Tuesday and all the major indexes closed lower after a shocking (to some) downgrade of small and medium-sized banks by rating agency Moody’s. In another stunning move, numerous large-cap industry giants like Bank of New York Mellon, U.S. Bancorp and State Street were all put on negative review status by Moody’s and could be downgraded in the future.

Once again the fear of contagion in the banking system has been reignited, and with the potential for more economic worries if inflation comes in hotter than expected tomorrow, we could be in for some rough sailing.

Treasury yields were down across the curve as the lure of safe-haven government debt had buyers showing up right from the open. The biggest buying was in the longer maturities, as the 10-year note closed at 4.02% and the 30-year long bond at 4.21%, with both yields dropping by five basis points. The two-year paper closed unchanged at 4.76%, as the inversion widened some Tuesday.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude bucked the selling trend like Treasuries, as both closed higher after industry reports indicated that crude inventories will sink to an eight-year low by the end of this year. Continued demand plus the falling inventories have analysts feeling that the $80 level could prove to be strong support. Brent closed the day at $86 a barrel, while WTI finished the session at $82.67. Natural gas also closed higher at $2.78, up 2% on the day.

Gold was also a loser Tuesday, despite Russia announcing it was restarting its gold and currency purchasing again to the tune of $19 million per day. In addition, China continues to buy the bullion in its efforts to challenge the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The December contract closed at $1,958.90, down 0.56%. Bitcoin was a big winner on the day, closing up 2.65% at $29,954.30.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each weekday with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

Alteryx Inc. (NYSE: AYX): Loop Capital’s downgrade to Hold from Buy included a target price cut to $35 from $60. The consensus target is $67.51 for now. The stock closed down 18% on Tuesday at $30.87 after report of a second-quarter loss.

Compass Inc. (NYSE: COMP): Oppenheimer bumped its $5 target price to $6 while maintaining an Outperform rating. The consensus target is $4.09 and Tuesday’s closing print was $3.85.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Truist Financial raised its Hold rating to Buy and its $31 target price to $44. The consensus target is $31.78. The stock closed on Tuesday at $31.71.

Freshpet Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT): Although J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight, its $78 target price increased to $84. The consensus target is $83.69. The shares closed down 3% on Tuesday at $80.00.

Genius Sports Ltd. (NYSE: GENI): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating and boosted its $7 target price to $10. The consensus target is $8.83, and the shares closed on Tuesday at $6.75.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD): Telsey Advisory downgraded the shares from Outperform to Market Perform. Its $315 target price is less than the $320.11 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $327.85.

Inogen Inc. (NASDAQ: INGN): J.P. Morgan’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight came with a target price cut to $8 from $15. The consensus target is $15.00 for now. The shares closed almost 14% lower on Tuesday at $6.48. The company reported a second-quarter loss and missed revenue estimates.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF): Societe Generale downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold with an $80 target price. The consensus target is $105.90 for now. Tuesday’s $64.77 close was down 20% on the day, after its full-year sales guidance was slashed.

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National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE: NSA): Stifel cut its Buy rating to Hold and its $47 target price to $35. The consensus target is $40.75. Tuesday’s close was at $32.05.

NovoCure Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVCR): Piper Sandler upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral and has a $45 target price. The consensus target is way up at $80.29, and Tuesday’s close was at $27.64.

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR): Goldman Sachs raised its $10 price target on the Neutral-rated shares to $11. The consensus target is $12.82. The stock closed on Tuesday at $17.04
RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG): Craig Hallum downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold with a $38 target price. The consensus target is higher at $46.75 for now. Shares tumbled 18% on Tuesday to close at $31.81. Though it topped estimates, guidance was disappointing.

Sage Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SAGE): Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral with a $22 target price. The consensus target is $40.76 for now. Tuesday’s $18.93 close was a one-day gain of 13% gain, a recovery from after a stunning drop on Monday when the FDA rejected a treatment for major depressive disorder from Sage and its partner Biogen.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and has a $130 target price. The $120.20 consensus target is closer to Tuesday’s close at $108.76.

Telephone and Data Systems Inc. (NYSE: TDS): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock from Neutral to Overweight and has a $38 target price. The consensus target is just $15.50. Tuesday’s $17.00 closing share price was up 29% on the potential for the U.S. Cellular transaction.

United States Cellular Corp. (NYSE: USM): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock from Neutral to Overweight. Its $52 target price towers over the $24 consensus target. Shares ended Tuesday 23% higher at $38.43 despite earnings that missed estimates. Growth in tower revenue was cited for the big move, and the fact that executives are shopping the company was a massive lift.

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Westlake Corp. (NYSE: WLK): When J.P. Morgan downgraded the shares to Underweight from Neutral, its $120 target price rose to $123. The consensus target is $118.13. The stock closed on Tuesday at $132.59.

Willis Towers Watson PLC (NYSE: WTW): The BMO Capital Markets downgrade to Underperform from Market Perform included a target price cut to $205 from $230. The consensus target is $248.41 for now. Tuesday’s $203.44 close down almost 4% for the day on the downgrade.

Moody’s has downgraded a number of smaller and regional banks, but five mega-cap financial giants will likely weather the storm. They have the most assets, posted stellar second-quarter results and pay dependable dividends.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Cloudflare, Datadog, Dish Network, DraftKings, Fortinet, MGM Resorts, PG&E, Rocket Companies, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Wayfair and XPO.

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The futures were trading lower after a grim day across Wall Street that saw all the major indexes finish lower on the day. As expected, the Federal Reserve held rates steady, which kept federal funds at 5.25% to 5.50% until at least November. While that issue has been sidelined for a couple of months, the ongoing UAW strike, the potential for some stiff consumer headwinds and seasonality are all front and center for investors, as the big tech stocks that have driven the rally this year are starting to see some selling after big moves higher.

Treasury yields were higher across the curve, and the recent selling has pushed many maturities to highs not seen in years. The sellers were focused on maturities from the two-year, which closed at 5.18%, up to the benchmark 10-year note, which finished the session at 4.41%, the highest since 2007. While the inversion between the two still indicates a recession is on the way, it is likely a 2024 event now.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both took a breather Wednesday, after a strong move higher over the past 10 days. Another large inventory draw somewhat kept the recent bid in place however, as Brent finished the day down 0.81% at $93.53, while WTI closed down 1% at $90.28. Natural gas also finished the day lower, down almost 4% at $2.73.

Gold closed lower on the day, with the December contract closing down 0.12% at $1,951.30. Top strategists cited the rising U.S. debt as a factor (it was announced the United States had reached a $33.04 trillion in outstanding debt). That number reflects a stunning 50% increase in federal spending between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2021 contributed to the debt topping the $33 trillion level. Bitcoin closed modestly lower on the day at $27,123.90.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each weekday with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday, September 21, 2023.

Azul S.A. (NYSE: AZUL): Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised the target price to $18.30 from $14.90. The consensus target is $15.90. The stock was last seen on Wednesday trading at $9.25, up almost 12% on the day after the upgrade and positive analysts’ comments.

Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE: BHC): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and lifted its $9 target price to $16. The consensus target is $8.50. Wednesday’s close at $8.34 was up almost 8% after the upgrade and the news the CFO had resigned.

CBOE Global Markets Inc. (CBOE): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and a $162 target price. The consensus target is $157.38. The shares closed on Wednesday at $155.13.

CoStar Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP): JMP Securities resumed coverage with a Market Outperform rating and a $100 target, The consensus target is $97.92. The shares closed on Wednesday at $81.13.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): Jefferies reiterated a Hold rating, and its price objective is $380. This compares with the higher $417.85 consensus target price and Wednesday’s closing trade of $388.84.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM): RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating, and its price target is $188. The consensus target is just $143.00. The shares closed on Wednesday at $149.83.

Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM): Wells Fargo upgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight, and its target price is $20. The consensus target is $22.51. The final trade for Wednesday was reported at $18.45.

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX): TD Securities raised its Hold rating to Buy and has a $78 target price. The consensus target is $76, and Wednesday’s closing print was $57.62.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $470 target price. The consensus target is just $435.71. The stock finished Wednesday’s session at $391.88.

nCino Inc. (NASDAQ: NCNO): Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight and has a $24 price target. The consensus target is $32.50. The stock closed on Wednesday at $32.07.

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS): Citigroup raised its Neutral rating to Buy and its $31 target price to $36. The consensus target is $32.08. The stock closed over 3% higher on Wednesday at $27.02 after multiple upgrades and positive comments from the CEO.

Regency Centers Corp. (NASDAQ: REG): Argus upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and has set a $70 target price. The consensus target is $69.71. Wednesday’s close was at $62.47.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): The Outperform rating at Exane BNP Paribas dropped to Neutral, and the firm has a $110 target price. The $120.72 consensus target is higher, but Wednesday’s closing print was $96.33.

Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE: VEEV): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $225 target price. The consensus target is $224.36.Wednesday’s closing share price was $209.49.

Ventas Corp. (NYSE: VTR): As Raymond James downgraded the stock to Outperform from Strong Buy, its $55 target price slipped to $53. The consensus target is $51.41. The last trade on Wednesday came in at $43.98.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating but cut its target price to $110 from $135. The consensus target is $106.28. The stock closed on Wednesday at $82.56.

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Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING): As Wedbush upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral, its target price rose to $200 from $180. The consensus target is $199.18. Wednesday’s close was at $175.46.

Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA): Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight, The analyst also reduced the $276 target price to $220, well below the $305 consensus target. The stock closed on Wednesday at $235.83.

Five top blue chip stocks have struggled this year for a variety of reasons, but their value and total return proposition offer investors who are more conservative some quality ideas for the rest of this year and in 2024.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Arm, Carnival, CVS Health, Deere, Dell Technologies, Intercontinental Exchange, Planet Fitness, Rackspace Technology, Royal Caribbean Cruises, SoFi Technologies, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks and Super Micro Computer.

The post Thursday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Bausch Health, Disney, IBM, Kimco Realty, Pinterest, Western Digital and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..