Economy
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Chipotle, IBM, Level 3, Netflix, PayPal, Salesforce and More
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Stocks were indicated higher on Tuesday as earnings season starts to spew out major Dow earnings this week. Even with all the high valuations and even with a bull market that is now seven and a half years old, investors still act as though they want to buy every market dip. Those same investors are also looking for new ideas to generate gains or income ahead.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning. The goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst research reports cover stocks to buy, and some reports feature stocks to sell or to avoid.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday morning:
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James, noting that last year’s woes may prove to be long-lasting or even permanent. The stock closed down 2.4% at $394.35 on Monday and was indicated down 0.7% at $391.50 early Tuesday. Its 52-week trading range is $384.77 to $720.50, and the consensus analyst price target is $433.96.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) was last seen down 2.7% at $150.60 after Monday’s earnings report. IBM was maintained as Neutral and the price target was cut to $145 from $147 at Goldman Sachs. Credit Suisse maintained its Underperform rating and $110 price target, and Barclays maintained its Underweight rating but cut the price target to $135 from $140. Citigroup reiterated its Neutral rating and $160 price target.
Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) was started as Overweight with a $54 price target at Barclays. Shares closed at $46.09, in a 52-week range of $41.73 to $57.59. The consensus price target is $59.77.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was last seen up 18.5% at $118.22 after Monday’s earnings beat expectations. It was reiterated as Underperform but the price target was raised to $60 at Wedbush Securities. Baird reiterated its Neutral rating but raised its target to $120 from $94 per share. Deutsche Bank maintained its Sell rating but raised its price target to $92 from $90. UBS maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target to $119 from $92, and Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating but raised its target to $140 from $115.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $46 price target (versus a $39.48 prior close) at Evercore ISI. Shares were indicated up 1% at $39.90 on Tuesday, with a 52-week range of $30.52 to $41.75. The consensus price target is $44.60.
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was started as Buy with a $90 price target at Rosenblatt Securities. The 52-week range is $52.60 to $84.48, and the consensus price target is $93.51.
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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen as follows:
8point3 Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: CAFD) was started as Buy with an $18 price objective (versus a $14.44 close) at Merrill Lynch.
Apptio Inc. (NASDAQ: APTI) was started with a Buy rating with a $26 price objective at Merrill Lynch. JPMorgan started it as Neutral with a $23 price target. RBC started it as Outperform with a $23 target, and Barclays started it as Equal Weight with a $23 price target. Goldman Sachs started Apptio as Neutral with a $21 price target.
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.
Del Taco Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ: TACO) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $17 at Wedbush.
Gulfport Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: GPOR) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $35 price target (versus a $27.61 close) at Goldman Sachs.
Hospitality Properties Trust (NYSE: HPT) was started as Buy with a $31 price target (versus a $29.01 close) at Janney.
International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Macquarie.
Ingersoll-Rand PLC (NYSE: IR) was maintained as Buy with an $80 price target at Jefferies, noting that HVA trends could offer upside even as industrial trends remain weak to stable.
Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) was started as Outperform with a $53 price target at Robert W. Baird.
Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) was started as Buy with a $62 price target at Needham.
Oceaneering International Inc. (NYSE: OII) was started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Packaging Corp. of America (NYSE: PKG) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
Synacor Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNC) was started with a Buy rating and given a $7 price target (versus a $2.85 close) at Ladenburg Thalmann.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham.
Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades were in Continental Resources, Freeport-McMoRan, Groupon, JPMorgan, Linear Technology, Marathon Oil, PNC Financial and over a dozen more.
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