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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AbbVie, Beyond Meat, Biogen, Cars.com, Levi Strauss, Maxeon, Nvidia, Pfizer, Plug Power, Square, Wayfair and More

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Stock futures surged on Monday after news of the COVID-19 vaccine being so successful, but the market gave up nearly half of its gains late in the day, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down on Monday as well. Tuesday showed a positive gain for the Dow Jones industrial average’s open, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both lower. As the election now appears to be over, save run-offs and legal challenges, investors are trying to judge the landscape for what 2021 will bring. How they should be positioned for the coming months is now becoming a serious debate.

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 10, 2020.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was started with an Outperform rating and a $120 price target (versus a $95.12 prior close) at Bernstein. It had a $110.37 consensus target price.

Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) lost 4% of its value to close at $150.50 on Monday as news broke that McDonald’s would begin work toward its own non-meat items, but then Beyond Meat reported an unexpected loss and a disappointment on revenues as sales growth slowed. That had shares down over 22% at $116.60 on Tuesday morning. UBS raised it to Neutral from Sell with a $107 price target, and Piper Sandler raised its rating to Overweight from Neutral with a $144 price target. The stock had a $129.21 consensus target price going into earnings.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) stock closed down 28% at $236.26 on Monday after disappointing news on its Alzheimer’s drug candidate from the FDA Advisory Committee. Many analysts downgraded it or knocked down targets and expectations, but on Tuesday, Truist Securities reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $443 from $310, saying it has conviction that the FDA actually will approve aducanumab based on three criteria.

Cars.com LLC (NYSE: CARS) was reiterated as Buy with a $13 price target at D.A. Davidson. The stock closed down 5% at $8.85 on Monday but was indicated up 5% at $9.30 on Tuesday. Its consensus target price was $11.41.

Chefs’ Warehouse Inc. (NASDAQ: CHEF) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $30 price target at BMO Capital Markets. The stock closed up 42% at $20.06 on Monday, as a coronavirus vaccine would make restaurants safe again.

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) was started with a Market Perform rating and a $150 price target (versus a $142.33 prior close) at Bernstein.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ICPT) was up over 23% at $34.84 on Monday after its quarterly update. Robert W. Baird raised it to Outperform from Neutral with a $52 price target, and Raymond James upgraded it to Outperform from Market Perform with a $60 price target.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $20 price objective at BofA Securities. The stock closed up 6% at $16.50 on Monday, and it had a $19.40 consensus target price.

Marcus Corp. (NYSE: MCS) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Barrington Research.

Maxeon Solar Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: MAXN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.


Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said this stock appears solid heading into the release of its earnings. Shares most recently closed at $545.23 and have a consensus price target of $571.37.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) shares rose 7.7% to $39.20 on Monday on the news that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate appears to be more than 90% successful. Bernstein initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $42 price target.

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) was up over 7% at $20.31 on Monday, but the shares were indicated up 3.5% at $21.03 on Tuesday. H.C. Wainwright reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $30 from $14.

Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE: RTX) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its price target was set at $79 at JPMorgan. The stock closed up 11% at $64.99 on Monday, with a $73.66 consensus target price.

Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPR) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $36 price target at JPMorgan. With news of a vaccine potentially reopening the airplane manufacturing business ahead, its shares closed up 23.2% at $26.76 on Monday. The previous consensus price target was $22.56.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this stock has underperformed its industry over the past six months and is down 10% in the past month. Shares last closed at $196.32 and have a consensus price target of $233.77.

Sprout Social Inc. (NYSE: SPT) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $52 from $46 at Needham. The stock closed down 9.5% at $43.74 on Monday, along with all the tech/social media leaders selling off.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $220 price target (versus a $184.08 close, after a 7% drop) at BTIG. It had a $177.64 consensus target price.

Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with an $88 price target (versus a $71.08 prior close) at BMO Capital Markets.

3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at William Blair. Shares closed up 10% at $6.87 on Monday and were indicated up 3.8% at $7.12 on Tuesday.

U.S. Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) shares closed down 21.8% at $235.33 on Monday after the news of the coronavirus vaccine’s success will hurt the stay-at-home and online leaders if it is really a success. D.A. Davidson upgraded it to Buy from Neutral with a $280 price target.


Jefferies has four growth stock picks that should do well in 2021 no matter who sits in the White House.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Albermarle, Biogen, Fisker, General Motors, Livent, Marriott International, Uber Technologies and Yelp.

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