Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Groupon, Micron, RingCentral, Target, Tesla, Monster, Pfizer and More

Stocks fell again on Tuesday, and Wednesday’s indications are lower as well. Investors still want upside, but they are also getting more selective on stocks versus the stock market in general. Each morning, 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports to find new investment and trading ideas. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while other research reports cover stocks to sell or stocks to avoid.

We have a massive representation of analyst calls for Wednesday morning, and these were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Wall Street analysts.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) posted earnings that just didn’t please anyone outside of short sellers. Wunderlich has downgraded the daily deals site to Hold from Buy, and it cut the target price to $6 from $10. Sterne Agee maintained its Buy rating but lowered estimates and said it remains a “prove me” story.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was reiterated as Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a $43 price target after the DRAM maker hosted its analyst day in Hong Kong. Sterne Agee also maintained its Buy rating and $40 price target. Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating and its $50 price target.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) rose handily on Tuesday after portfolio manager Dan Niles touted it as a telecom disruption company. Now Oppenheimer has started coverage with an Outperform rating and given it a $20 price target (versus a $14.66 close).

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its price target was cut to $59 from $65 (versus a $58.03 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was started as Outperform and given a $316 price target (versus a $238.49 close) at Pacific Crest.

ALSO READ: Jefferies Picks Top Franchise Stocks to Buy

BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) was raised to Outperform with a $41 to $43 price range at Wells Fargo.

Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN) lost almost one-quarter of its value on Tuesday after earnings. Jefferies downgraded its rating to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $18 from $26.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo, and the price target range was lifted to $65 to $70 from $55 to $60.

Chuy’s Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUY) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $33 price target (versus a $26.01 close) at Jefferies.

Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $181 price target at Merrill Lynch.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $12 from $11 at Canaccord Genuity after it beat earnings. This was in our top seven small-cap alternative energy stocks with massive upside.

ALSO READ: 13 Analyst Stock Picks Under $10 With Massive Upside

Enzymotec Ltd. (NASDAQ: ENZY) fell by almost 40% on Tuesday after reporting that revenue decreased almost 40% to $9.0 million. Wells Fargo cut its rating to Market Perform from Outperform and set its target down at $9 to $10 from $26 to $28. Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating, but the firm cut the target down to $12 from $25.

Expeditors International of Washington Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was cut to $43 from $45 at Credit Suisse.

Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) was raised to Hold from Sell at Brean Capital. Canaccord Genuity maintained a Hold rating, but raised the target to $41 from $38.

Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) lost over 15% on Tuesday after earnings. It was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $6 price target (versus a $5.59 close) at Baird.

Pattern Energy Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $33 from $36 at Merrill Lynch.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) was started as Reduce at Nomura.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was reiterated as Buy and with a $35 price target at Argus.

Rocket Fuel Inc. (NASDAQ: FUEL) was indicated down 25% at a post-IPO low after revenue was talked down with slowing core sales growth. A firm named First Analysis cut its rating to Equal Weight from Overweight, and other firms likely cut their ratings too.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

ServiceMaster Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SERV) was started as Market Perform at RBC Capital Markets. We saw three positive analyst ratings on Tuesday with big upside. J.P. Morgan started it as Overweight and with a $23 price target. Morgan Stanley started it as Overweight with a $24 price target. Merrill Lynch started it as Buy with a $22 price target. Also Credit Suisse started it as Outperform with a $24 price target.

Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at FBR Capital Markets.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $65 price target (versus a $54.83 close) at Raymond James.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $69 price target at Topeka Capital Markets.

ALSO READ: Tuesday’s Top After-Hours Movers

Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts

Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.

It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.

We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today.  Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.

 

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.