Stocks hit new highs this past week, only to sell off handily. Investors want gains, but they remain wary. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports from Wall Street and boutique firms each day of the week, hunting for hidden gems and new ideas. It turns out that after we review these calls on Friday and Saturday, there are some very aggressive calls.
It also just so happens that the group of stocks trading under $10.00 per share has some of the boldest analyst calls of all. Investors do need to be warned that most of these are far from suitable for widows and orphans. Small-cap and low-priced stocks also can have risks that are way above average.
We have found 12 analyst calls from this past week in which analysts called for potentially huge upside in stocks under $10. We have listed their calls and price targets when available, and color has been added on most of these. These were the top analyst calls of this past week covering stocks trading under $10.
Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (NASDAQ: AMCC) was mentioned this week by Oppenheimer as a Cisco coat-tail winner in the supply chain after Cisco beat the earnings estimates. Applied Micro delivers silicon solutions that dramatically lower total cost of ownership, and it sells packet processors and 10G physical layers to both Cisco and Cisco’s optical module suppliers. The Thomson/First Call consensus is $13. Shares traded at $8.57 Friday afternoon.
Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST) received the same sort of upgrade the prior week, removing another negative Sell-equivalent rating. The stock was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Macquarie back on Monday. Forest Oil shares were down about $0.10 for the week as of late Friday, but another “Sell” rating has been removed from a $2.14 stock.
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Harmony Gold Mining Co. (NYSE: HMY) was raised to Overweight from Neutral by J.P. Morgan on Wednesday, a day after Zacks also raised its rating to Neutral from Underperform. We did not catch a price target, but the stock was at $3.15 late on Friday, and the consensus price target is up at $4.05.
Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) enjoyed close to a 10% bounce on Monday after the satellite phone provider was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie. The prior price had been $6.81, and the target price is now $8.80. Shares were at $6.95 in late Friday trading.
Magellan Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: MPET) may be worth only $95 million, but the small oil and gas player was started as Buy at a firm named B. Riley, with a $4.50 price target. Shares were trading at $2.05 around the call on Thursday, and the stock was up at $2.11 late on Friday.
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MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) was raised to Neutral from Underweight by Piper Jaffray. This may not be a huge endorsement, particularly with a $6.50 price target. What investors need to understand is that the prior target was $2 and this removes one of the biggest Sell-equivalent ratings.
National Bank of Greece S.A. (NYSE: NBG) had a twofer this last week. On Friday, the Greek bank’s American depositary shares (ADSs) were raised to Overweight from Neutral at J.P. Morgan out of their European coverage. Another boost was that S&P raised its corporate debt rating as well. NBG shares were up close to 6% on the upgrade and at $3.07 in late Friday trading. Volume was also more than 10 times normal on Friday.
Plug Power Corp. (NASDAQ: PLUG) was given a big upgrade on the surface, but you could argue that it was a valuation downgrade at the same time. Cowen raised its rating to Outperform from Market Perform, but lowered its price target to $6.00 from $7.50. This stock had a great week, and shares were trading up around $4.35 in late Friday trading.
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Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RIGL) has a huge upside target from Jefferies in a call this week that featured oversold biotech. Jefferies analysts pointed out that the stock traded close to cash, with $2.33 per share on the balance sheet, and that it was down a staggering 24% just since the start of the second quarter. They call it one of the best small cap opportunities, with a Buy rating and whopping $10 price target. The consensus target is closer to $6, and shares were trading at $3.01 late on Friday. This could be a more than 200% gain if Jefferies is right.
Summer Infant Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMR) had a stellar week after earnings. Roth Capital raised its rating to Buy from Neutral, supposedly with a $2.25 price target, but this stock was up at $3 in late day trading on Friday. Is it still a buy, particularly if it was a $1.66 stock earlier in the week?
TheStreet Inc. (NASDAQ: TST) is not covered very often, so when it is covered it stands out. Jim Cramer’s house was started with a Buy rating and $4.15 price target by a firm named B. Riley. Shares were trading up more than 4% at $2.61 in late Friday trading.
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Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (NYSE: YGE) was listed among the UBS potential clean tech stock winners this past week. This is after a call to Buy on weakness, although it was a reiterated Buy. Yingli did not perform well and the call went unnoticed. Shares were at $2.80 late on Friday, after peaking at $3.25 this past week. UBS has a $6 price target, so the UBS team is implying a 100% gain opportunity for shareholders if it is right. Keep in mind that the consensus price target here is $5.88.
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