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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Achillion, CSC, Keurig, Sarepta, Splunk and More
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Stocks were marginally higher on Wednesday morning, but the S&P 500 and DJIA are effectively at all-time highs. As investors keep proving over and over that they want to buy stocks on weakness, 24/7 Wall St. review dozens of analyst calls each morning to find new ideas for traders and investors. Some of the analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while some analyst calls cover stocks to sell or stocks to avoid.
These are this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.
Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities. UBS downgraded Achillion to Neutral from Buy. Shares were down over 7% at $9.85 after Johnson & Johnson signed a $1.1 billion license and collaboration for its hep-C drug.
Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan raised its rating to Neutral from Underweight. Janney maintained a Neutral rating with a $60 fair value target. This is on the heels of CSC breaking itself up into two outfits and paying a special $10.50 dividend. CSC closed at $67.66, and shares were indicated up 5% at $71.50 in the premarket trading on Wednesday.
Keurig Green Mountain Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus, with the call being based on a weaker near-term outlook. Earnings estimates were trimmed by 10% or so for this year and next, and pressure has been seen on many fronts. Still, the long-term rating from Argus remains a Buy.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) was raised to Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity and raised to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Shares have surged by more than 40% to $24.00 or so in premarket trading, after positive news of a drug submission at the FDA on its muscular dystrophy drug.
Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $97 price target (versus a $67.95 close) at Macquarie. The news is after the company hired GE’s CIO as its own chief technology officer. Shares were indicated up almost 2% at $68.90, and the consensus price target is $79.70.
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There are roughly an additional 20 analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen this Wednesday:
Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) was removed from the U.S. Focus List and the Global Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $72 from $68 at Stifel. Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating but trimmed its earnings estimates. The chip maker was trading sideways after reporting mixed earnings and guidance.
Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanely.
Checkpoint Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) was started as Hold with a $91 price target (versus a $86.83 close) at Evercore ISI.
Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was started as Overweight and was assigned a $68 price target (versus a $57.23 close) at Barclays.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at R.W. Baird.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform ay R.W. Baird.
FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) was started as Buy with a $50 price target (versus a $41.53 close) at Evercore ISI.
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JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) was started as Equal Weight and was given a price target of $15 (versus a $12.77 close) at Morgan Stanley.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) was started as Buy and it was assigned a $37 price target (versus a $32.10 close) at Jefferies.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) was raised to Overweight with a $110 price target at Pacific Crest.
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) was started as Hold with a $174 price target (versus a $158.33 close) at Evercore ISI.
Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSE) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $45 price target at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. It was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at R.W. Baird.
Total System Services Inc. (NYSE: TSS) was started as Outperform and was assigned a $46 price target (versus a $41.92 close) at CLSA.
UBS A.G. (NYSE: UBS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
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Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was started as Outperform with a $77 price target (versus a $70.16 close) at CLSA.
Vivint Solar Inc. (NYSE: VSLR) was started as Outperform and was assigned a $20 price target (versus a $13.90 close) at Northland Securities.
In case you missed Tuesday’s analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in Apple, Lumber Liquidators, Take-Two Interactive Software, Urban Outfitters, Apigee, Akamai Technologies, Intuit and about a dozen more companies.
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