Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amarin, IBM, Salesforce.com, SolarCity and More

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By Jon C. Ogg Published
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Earnings season has started as Washington, D.C., seems to have figured a way out of its shenanigans again. Now investors really have to be wondering which stocks to buy and which to sell. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of Wall Street analyst research each morning in order to discover new ideas for our readers. These are this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms.

Amarin Corp. PLC (NASDAQ: AMRN) is getting crushed by about 60% after confirming that an FDA panel voted nine to two against its Vascepa. Shares have been downgraded at Canaccord Genuity, SunTrust, J.P. Morgan and other firms.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight by HSBC.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a $50 price target (versus a $41.60 close) at Oppenheimer.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform and with a price target of $20.00 from $11.00 (versus a $22.48 close) at Cowen & Co.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) posted poor earnings and sales, and it is hitting a new 52-week low. Big Blue was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, and it was maintained as Underperform with a target price drop to $160 from $175 at Credit Suisse.

Jinko Solar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $32 from $22 (versus a $23.29 close) at Credit Suisse.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST) was reinstated as Outperform with a $52 price target (versus a $46.05 close) at Credit Suisse.

Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus.

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) was reiterated Buy with a $26 price target (versus a $20.15 close), based on attractive valuations, at Argus.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was started with a Buy rating and a $63 target price at Argus.

SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) was started as Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

Select Comfort Corp. (NASDAQ: SCSS) is down 25% after a weak forecast. The stock was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse and downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Synalloy Corp. (NASDAQ: SYNL) was started with a Buy rating and $22 price target at Sterne Agee.

Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) shares are lower by more than 4% after an earnings beat, but guidance disappointed. We have seen downgrades so far from Piper Jaffray and Raymond James, with a lower price target from Jefferies as well.

Here are 10 trends that will not change at all after the Washington, D.C., settlement to lift the debt ceiling and reopen the government.

Merrill Lynch has raised its targets on top oil and energy stocks, some significantly.

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About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

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