Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Schwab, 3D Systems, Stratasys, Groupon, Lifepoint, E*Trade and More
Published:
Last Updated:
Stocks were lower on Thursday, going into the unemployment and payrolls report. What has held true for almost four years now is that investors have lined up and bought their favorite stocks on every pullback. The reasons they find to buy are always different, but that has been the case regardless. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of research reports each day to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some of the analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.
These are Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.
Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $36 price target (versus a $32.26 close) at Goldman Sachs. The consensus price target is almost $34.
3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) was started as Market Perform with a $21.00 price target (versus a $21.75 close) at FBR. The consensus price target now is only $24.63.
Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) was started with a Buy rating and price target of $8.50 (versus a $6.00 close) at Deutsche Bank. This was a top analyst call on Thursday as well, with B. Riley downgrading the online deals site to Neutral from Buy.
Lifepoint Health Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) was started as Buy and was added on to the Conviction Buy list with a $92 price target (versus a $73.39 close) at Goldman Sachs. The consensus price target is almost $81, and the street’s highest analyst target is $94.
Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) was started as Market Perform with a $42.00 price target (versus a $35.65 close) at FBR. Stratasys has a consensus analyst target of about $46.00, and it was recently given upside of almost 50% in a competing analyst call.
E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) was started as Buy with a $34 price target (versus a $30.11 close) at Goldman Sachs. The stock was recently highlighted as potentially bringing up merger interest ahead, which follows many such rumors of years past. The consensus price target is $31.64, and the highest analyst price target is $35.00.
ALSO READ: 10 Stocks to Own for the Next Decade
The following are the additional top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Thursday:
Adeptus Health Inc. (NASDAQ: ADPT) was started as Buy with a price target of $88 (versus a $76.48 close) at Goldman Sachs.
AES Corp. (NYSE: AES) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
AmSurg Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSG) was started as Buy with a price target of $81 (versus a $68.51 close) at Goldman Sachs.
Bazaarvoice Inc. (NASDAQ: BV) was raised to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley with an $8.50 price target (versus a $5.78 close). This is ahead of next week’s earnings report, and after Needham started it with a Buy rating a week earlier.
Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
Citizens Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: CFG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
ALSO READ: 5 Analyst Stock Picks Called to Rise 50% to 100%
Denny’s Corp. (NASDAQ: DENN) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $14 price target (versus a $10.57 close) at Wedbush.
Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie.
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $34 price target (versus a $27.46 close) at Stifel.
ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) was started as Market Perform with a $13.00 price target (versus a $12.89 close) at FBR. ExOne has a consensus target of almost $18.
8×8 Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) was reiterated as Neutral with a fair value target of $40 (versus a $38.59 close) at Janney Capital Markets.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE: LYG) was raised to Buy from Hold at HSBC.
Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) was started as Overweight at Atlantic Equities.
Team Health Holdings Inc. (NYSE: TMH) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $68 price target at Goldman Sachs.
Universal Health Services Inc. (NYSE: UHS) was started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Virtus Investment Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTS) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
ALSO READ: Is There a New Greek Bank Nationalization Risk?
In case you missed Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of Twitter, Whiting Petroleum, Groupon, Goldman Sachs BDC, AT&T and over a dozen more.
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.
Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.