Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Activision, BHP Billiton, Dunkin', Hertz, JetBlue, Panera and More

Investing

Published: August 20, 2014 8:55 am

Stocks were down by a tiny amount on Wednesday morning, following two days of gains and ahead of the FOMC’s minutes. Investors have gotten used to volatility again, but they have also been using that volatility and weakness to accumulate stocks selectively. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning for new investment and trading ideas for our readers. Some of the research reports cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or to avoid. These are this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades from 24/7 Wall St.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $30 from $24 at Argus.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) was downgraded to Neutral From Buy by Citigroup and it was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM) was raised to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform at Scotia.

CenterPoint Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Argus.

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $51 price target at Barclays.

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F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) was raised to Strong Buy from Buy at ISI Group.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) was down over 10% on lower guidance due to audit costs and recalls. The car rental giant was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, and J.P. Morgan cut its rating to Neutral from Overweight.

JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $15 price target at Cowen.

Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $175 price target at Barclays.

SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE: SXC) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

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In case you missed Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Applied Materials, El Pollo Loco, Dollar General, SolarCity, Urban Outfitters and more.

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