Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AOL, ARM, Coke, Cree, 3D Systems, Ocwen, Groupon and More

Stocks were firm again on Wednesday morning. Investors have now formally proven that they are willing to buy value and overlooked stocks on the dips. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each morning to hunt for new investment and trading ideas for our readers. Some of these key analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

These are this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades featured by 24/7 Wall St.

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) was indicated down well over 10% after disappointing earnings. The LED company was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was slashed to $29 from $41 at Canaccord Genuity.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) saw a 6% drop after earnings and guidance showed more woes for sugar-water drinks. The beverage giant was downgraded to Sell from Hold and the price target was set at $37.50 (versus a $40.68 close) at Soc-Gen.

Ocwen Financial Corp. (NYSE: OCN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Evercore on the heels of its New York state investigation into backdating foreclosure and loan-modification letters. Merrill Lynch also downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and slashed the price target to $23 from $35.

3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) was started as Outperform with a $57 price target (versus a $43.38 close) at Oppenheimer. The timing of this call was ahead of 3D’s earnings warning that has taken shares down 8% or so, but most investors will now be looking at the call versus the warning.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $50 from $40 at FBR Capital Markets. This was also one of the five top earnings winners that had carryover into Wednesday.

Other Key Analyst Calls

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) upgraded to Buy from Hold with a $48 price target (versus a close of $48) at Evercore.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) may have fallen almost 5% after earnings on Tuesday, but the mobile processor designer was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Cognex Corp. (NASDAQ: CGNX) was started as Outperform with a $46 price target (versus a $39.14 close) at Oppenheimer.

Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $17 price target (versus a $13.93 close) at Morgan Stanley.

ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) was started as Outperform with a $35 price target at Oppenheimer.

ALSO READ: The 20 Most Profitable Companies in the World

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) was started as Buy with an $8 price target (versus a $6.22 close) at Brean Capital.

Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS, and it was started as Equal Weight with a $104 price target at Barclays. Hess closed at $81.34 on Tuesday.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy, and the price target was cut to $11 from $12 (versus a $9.26 close) at Raymond James.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) was started at Perform at Oppenheimer.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) was started as Hold at Brean Capital, almost immediately ahead of its earnings report.

ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch Biotech Picks for Up to 100% Upside Potential

In case you missed Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Apple, BHP, Ford, GM, IBM, NetEase, Twitter and a dozen or so more.

Cash Back Credit Cards Have Never Been This Good

Credit card companies are at war, handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers. A good cash back card can be worth thousands of dollars a year in free money, not to mention other perks like travel, insurance, and access to fancy lounges. See our top picks for the best credit cards today. You won’t want to miss some of these offers.

 

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.