Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Foot Locker, CBOE, InterMune, US Steel and More

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By Jon C. Ogg Published
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Stocks were firm on Monday, with Dow futures above 17,000 and with the S&P 500 futures up at almost 1,995. Investors have been focused on growth and value on a selective basis during these final dog days of summer. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of research reports each morning for new investment ideas and trading ideas. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, but others cover stocks to sell or stocks to avoid.

These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades from 24/7 Wall St.

Ann Inc. (NYSE: ANN) was maintained as Buy but the price target was cut to $45 from $48 (versus a $37.52 close) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

CBOE Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was set at $60 (versus a $51.06 close) at Raymond James.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight but the price target was raised to $57 from $54 (versus a $54.12 close) at Piper Jaffray. It was maintained as Buy and the price target was raised to $65 from $60 at Sterne Agee, and Canaccord Genuity raised estimates, raised its price target to $59 from $56, and reiterated at Buy.

InterMune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) is being acquired at $74 per share in cash by Roche after closing at $53.80 on Friday, in a deal that had been leaked ahead of time. The biotech outfit was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) has named a new U.S. CEO to drive the company. The fast-food chain was reiterated as Buy with a $110 price target at Merrill Lynch.

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PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $24 from $22.50 (versus a $21.82 close) at Merrill Lynch.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was reiterated as Buy with a target price of $71 at Argus.

Spark Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: SPKE) saw its quiet period come to an end. The company was started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus, as Buy at Wunderlich and as Outperform at Baird.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $23 price target (versus a $23.30 close) at Credit Suisse.

Thoratec Corp. (NASDAQ: THOR) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was cut to $27 from $40 (versus a $24.36 close) at Piper Jaffray.

TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) was reiterated Buy and the price target was raised to $100 from $88 at Wunderlich.

U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) was raised to Outperform from Underperform and the price target was set at $50 at Credit Suisse.

ALSO READ: Top Stocks With Insider Buying in the Past Week

In case you missed Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of Aeropostale, AK Steel, Cyberonics, Gap, Lowe’s, PG&E and more.

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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.

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