Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amazon, Control4, Ocwen, Sprint, Veeco, More
Published:
Earnings season is winding down and stocks are trying to recover from the sell-off and volatility. Investors and analysts alike are now adjusting their portfolios and expectations for 2014. Each morning, 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of Wall Street analyst research reports on the hunt for new investment ideas. Some cover stocks to buy and some calls cover stocks to sell. These are this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has finally seen one more analyst say enough is enough on the valuation and no profits. UBS downgraded the online retailer of everything to Neutral from Buy, and the $450 prior target price was lowered to $375 in the call.
Control4 Corp. (NASDAQ: CTRL) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $25 from $23 at Canaccord Genuity after earnings. This was one of our own recent picks of nine stocks that could double in 2014.
Ocwen Financial Corp. (NYSE: OCN) was hit hard on Tuesday after a new suit against the company. Sterne Agee said that the company is now being attacked for doing too good a job on modifying loans. After the stock closed at 438.07, the firm reiterated its Buy rating and $65 price target.
Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $9.25 at Deutsche Bank. J.P. Morgan also raised its price target to $8 from $7, and Canaccord Genuity raised its price target to $7.50. This is a day after earnings, and a day after sending customers price hikes for its Clearwire 4G wireless Internet service.
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) was raised to outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse. The price target of $30 was raised to $50 (versus a $38.60 close). The firm said that the business is approaching a trough, and it also sees an improved outlook for orders due to higher margins and yields for LED manufacturers.
Other Key Analyst Calls
Aon PLC (NYSE: AON) was started as Buy with a $94 price target (versus a $83.18 close) at Citigroup.
AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: AXS) was started as Sell with a $38 price target (versus a $43.39 close) at Citigroup.
Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB) was started as Sell with a $76 price target (versus a $85.65 close) at Citigroup.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) was downgraded to Underperform from an already cautious Neutral rating at Macquarie.
Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) fell more than 7% after earnings on Tuesday, and Wednesday brought a downgrade to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Longbow Research.
Jive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: JIVE) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Mallinckrodt PLC (NYSE: MNK) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) was started as Buy with a $387 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
SeaDrill Ltd. (NYSE: SDRL) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo, and the price range was lowered from $40 to $42 to $30 to $33 in the call.
Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) was downgraded from an already cautious Neutral rating to Sell with a price target of $19.00 at UBS.
TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) was raised to Outperform at RBC Capital Markets, and the price target of $68 was raised to $95 in the call.
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.
Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.