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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Ally, Baidu, NetApp, Tesla, Zuliliy and More
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Stocks were higher on Thursday due to earnings, despite Greece failing to reach a deal with the European Union. News that Russia and Ukraine have reached a ceasefire is dominating. What investors keep proving is that they will buy stocks on every pullback, a trend that is now more than two years old. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each morning to find new investment and trading ideas for its readers. While some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, others cover stocks to sell or avoid.
These are this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $29 from $23 (versus a $21.11 close) at Bernstein. The consensus price target was $26.53, and the highest listed analyst price target out there is $32.
Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) shares were indicated down almost 7% around $200 in early trading after earnings. The Chinese online search giant was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel. Oppenheimer maintained its Outperform rating but cut the price target to $230 from $280.
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) was indicated 6% lower to around $37.50 after its forecast was short of estimates. The storage player was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Brean Capital. Sterne Agee lowered its price target to $36 from $37.
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Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was down 8% at $195 or so in early trading indications after it botched its earnings report. The stock was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at J.P. Morgan, and the price target was cut to $175 from $180. Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating but cut the target price to $290 from $325.
Zulily Inc. (NASDAQ: ZU) was down roughly 25% and trading around $15 in early trading, after missing fourth-quarter earnings. We have seen multiple downgrades: to Hold from Buy at Canaccord, to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray, to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets and to Neutral from Outperform at Baird. Most price targets were cut in half or more, generally to under $20.
Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades this Thursday were as follows:
Ctrip.com International Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTRP) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform with a $58 price target (versus a $45.79 close) at Oppenheimer.
DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) was started as Buy at Jefferies.
FMC Technologies Inc. (NYSE: FTI) rose 5% after beating earnings on Wednesday, but we have seen downgrades: to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup and to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) was started as Outperform with a $41 price target (versus a $35.03 close) at BMO Capital Markets.
HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at J.P. Morgan.
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KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE: KKR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $588 from $52 (versus a $51.19 close) at UBS.
Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) beat earnings on soft revenues, and shares were downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at FBR Capital Markets.
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $158 from $185 (versus a $146.97 close) at SunTrust.
Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, and the price target was raised $43 from $36 (versus a $37.66 close). Oppenheimer had raised its price target to $39 a day earlier.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was reiterated as Outperform at Credit Suisse, but the price target was raised to $95 from $87 (versus a $86.34 close).
Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) was up almost 2% around $54.50 on Thursday after earnings. Canaccord Genuity and Sterne Agee both reiterated their Buy ratings and identical $60 target prices.
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In case you missed Wednesday’s analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of Nu Skin Enterprises, Pier 1 Imports, VMware, Wal-Mart, Yelp and many more.
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