Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Citi, Lululemon, Microsoft, Oracle, SolarCity and More

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By Jon C. Ogg Published
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Stocks are trying to figure out what to do, and certain expensive sectors of the market have sold off handily. Investors still want to make money from the bull market, but they are also wary or fearful of the next sell-off. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst calls each morning of the week. We simply are hunting for the next new ideas. Some analyst calls are about stocks to buy, but some cover stocks to sell. These are this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe Generale. Argus reiterated its Sell rating. This was after two downgrades on Thursday as well. We also pointed out how Citi’s CEO made a huge error by hardly communicating to the market.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) saw its estimates for 2015 lowered at Argus, with a Hold rating maintained. Canaccord Genuity reiterated its Buy rating and said rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. Sterne Agee maintained its Underperform rating on Lululemon and lowered its earnings expectations.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $44 from $37 at RBC Capital Markets.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) was started with a Buy rating and a $50 price target at Cantor Fitzgerald.

SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James, and the firm assigned a $75 price target (versus a $60.74 close).

Other Key Analyst Calls

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) was raised to Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Macquarie.

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.

PennyMac Financial Services Inc. (NYSE: PFSI) was raised to Outperform by Wells Fargo, and it was said that the sell-off was now overdone.

PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $46 from $52 at Citigroup.

Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW) was downgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, due to its opinion of a less constructive regulatory climate in Arizona.

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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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