Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AcelRx, Cisco, CIT, Juniper, Pfizer, Xerox and Many More
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Stocks were down marginally in Monday’s early indications, but it felt more like a day looking for direction. Still, investors are seeking upside from stocks. The difference now is that the upside is looking at stock picks rather than relying on a five-an-a-half-year-old bull market that may need a breather. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each morning to find new investment and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Some analyst reports feature stocks to sell or to avoid.
These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Wall Street firms.
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACRX) is down close to 30% after a complete response letter from the FDA rejecting its painkiller dispensing device. Canaccord Genuity cut its rating to Hold from Buy and slashed its price target to $8 from $16.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Pacific Crest.
CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and given a downside target of $23 (versus a $27.16 close).
ALSO READ: 6 Analyst Stocks Under $10 With Major Upside
El Paso Electric Co. (NYSE: EE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, and the price target was cut to $39 from $44 (versus a $38.72 close).
Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with an $11 target price (versus a $11.43 close) at Deutsche Bank. Keep in mind that this remains one of the 24/7 Wall St. 7 small cap alternative energy stocks with massive upside potential.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $30 price target (versus a $23.25 close) at Bernstein. Keep in mind that Juniper fell 10% last week before recovering about one-third of its losses. Argus also reiterated its Buy rating.
NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) was maintained as Buy but was removed from the prized Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs. The firm lowered the price target to $36 from $40 (versus a $31.35 closing price).
NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
ALSO READ: 5 Analyst Stocks Yielding 10% or More
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets, and the price target was cut to $31 from $34 (versus a $30.19 close).
Safeguard Scientifics Inc. (NYSE: SFE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at First Analysis.
Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTC) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform with a $29 price target (versus a $21.80 close) at Raymond James.
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) was raised to Buy with a $190 price target at Wunderlich.
WellCare Health Plans Inc. (NYSE: WCG) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Sterne Agee.
Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at J.P.Morgan.
Zimmer Holding (NYSE: ZMH) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer and was give a $118 price target (versus a $100.81 close).
ALSO READ: Top Stocks With Insider Buying
In case you missed Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, these included Amazon.com, Brighcove, Deckers, Exxon Mobil, GM, Mylan, Twitter and many more. We also have a preview set for the key second-quarter GDP report due on Wednesday morning.
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