Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AngloGold, Twitter, Biogen, Celgene, HomeAway, VMware and More

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
By Jon C. Ogg Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Stocks are trying to hold on to new highs yet again. The difference at this high is that investors keep getting told that this is a stock picker’s market rather than a raging bull market. Each morning of the week, 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports for new ideas for its readers. Some of the analyst research pieces cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or to avoid. These are this Thursday’s top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) was raised to Overweight from Neutral by HSBC.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $375 from $370 at J.P. Morgan.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

Credit Suisse Group A.G. (NYSE: CS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald.

ALSO READ: A Three-Way Victory for Fuel Cell Stocks

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $60 from $65 by Sterne Agee.

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee.

D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $27 price target by RBC Capital Markets.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight by Morgan Stanley.

Harmony Gold Mining Co. (NYSE: HMY) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at HSBC.

HomeAway Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight by J.P. Morgan.

ALSO READ: The Six Most Shorted NYSE Stocks

Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan, after the news that Malcolm Glazer has died at the age of 85.

MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at J.P. Morgan, but the price target was cut to $104 from $114 (versus a $82.10 close).

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) beat earnings and settled litigation with Juniper Networks. It was raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer, and it was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse also raised their price targets.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) was raised to Buy from Hold at Cantor Fitzgerald.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
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.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618