These are this Wednesday’s top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Neutral, given slightly lower estimates and saw its price target raised to $96 from $85.71 at Credit Suisse. The firm still believes that the company continues to build an enviable portfolio of iServices that creates a sustainable competitive advantage.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was reiterated as Buy with a $80 price target (versus a $60.64 close) by Argus, just ahead of the company’s earnings announcement due Wednesday after the close.
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) was downgraded to Underperform from an already cautious Neutral rating, and the price target was cut to $31 from $38 (versus a $34.09 close)at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
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Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) was reiterated as Buy but the price target was raised to $114 from $93 at Sterne Agee. The report is a sum of the parts analysis after the Viper Energy Partners IPO.
Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was started as Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was started with an Equal Weight rating at Morgan Stanley.
Fresh Market Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) was started with an Underweight rating at Morgan Stanley.
Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at KeyBanc Capital Markets, and RBC Capital Markets started the motorcycle brand leader with a Sector Perform rating.
Hibbett Sports Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) was started with an Outperform rating at BMO Capital Markets.
ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) was started with an Underweight rating and given a downside price target of $10 (versus a $13.12 close) by Morgan Stanley.
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) was maintained as Neutral at Sterne Agee after traffic and store checks, but with a sense is that its traffic is gradually improving, but with the takeaway of management setting its comparable store sales and margin targets arguably high and with execution risk elevated and P&L losses looming, and visibility into fair value is minimal — “stay sidelined” was their quote.
Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) was started as Overweight and given a $60 price target (versus a $49.17 close) at Morgan Stanley.
Men’s Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was reiterated as Buy and the target was raised to $38 from $31 at Argus. Just yesterday, after earnings gains, we pondered whether analysts are chasing it up too much (and maybe not).
Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RH) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
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Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFM) was started as Overweight with a $38 price target (versus $31.29 close) at Morgan Stanley.
SUPERVALU Inc. (NYSE: SVU) was started with an Underweight rating at Morgan Stanley.
United Natural Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI) was started as Overweight with a price target of $80 (versus a $63.80 close) at Morgan Stanley.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) had a huge gain on positive drug data on Tuesday. Not everyone is on board. H.C. Wainwright downgraded it to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $85.00 (versus a $93.53 close). Needham & Co. reiterated its Buy rating and raised the price target to $115 from $95.
Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) was started as Overweight with a $50 price target (versus a $38.95 close) at Morgan Stanley.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies with an $87 price target. Goldman Sachs maintained its Conviction Buy List rating but lowered its price target to $84 from $87. FBR maintained its Market Perform rating but raised its target to $73 from $68. Walgreen shares closed at $72.48.
Zulily Inc. (NASDAQ: ZU) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $50 from $47 (versus a $36.54 close) at Goldman Sachs.
In case you missed Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Costco, Ctrip.com, Dr Pepper, PetSmart, Target, Web.com and many more. Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AMD, Dish Network, Facebook, Nordstrom, SunPower and many more as well.
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