Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Arch Coal, Autodesk, CarMax, Coach, ExxonMobil, Disney, Whiting and More
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Stocks were looking for direction on Monday, with little news pulling the market one way or the other. A trend that is nearing four years old now is that investors have literally bought every stock market dip for whatever reason is popular at the time. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each morning to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or avoid.
These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades downgrades and initiations.
Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen, with a $0.25 price target, versus a $0.18 previous close. This stock is down so low that the share volume remains active, but its prospects seem more than just discouraging due to coal these days.
Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) was reiterated as Outperform with an $80 price target at Credit Suisse. What stands out here was that Credit Suisse added Autodesk to the firm’s US Focus and Global Focus Lists. Despite medium-term downside risk to fiscal 2017 and 2018 numbers, the firm sees its business model changes driving post-transition earnings of $8.00 per share in fiscal 2023, versus a $4.00 consensus.
CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) was maintained as Buy but was added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs. The firm’s $78.00 price target compares to a $64.51 previous close and a consensus price target of $77.14.
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was cut to $30 from $47 (versus a $31.20 close) at JPMorgan. Coach shares have a consensus price target closer to $40 and a 52-week range of $30.13 to $43.87.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was reiterated as Underperform and the price target was cut to $83 from $86 at Credit Suisse. The firm noted that earnings were not so bad but the shale exploration and production winning face a productivity battle.
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $130 from $120 at RBC Capital Markets. Disney’s consensus price target is $122.70 and its 52-week range is $78.54 to $120.72.
Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $38 price target (versus a $20.49 close) at Canaccord Genuity. Whiting closed down 8.5% at $20.49 on Friday, and it has a consensus price target close to $39 and a 52-week range of $20.17 to $92.92.
ALSO READ: 5 Analyst Picks from July That Could Double
Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations were seen in the following on Monday:
Abengoa S.A. (NASDAQ: ABGB) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas. This is on the heels of a €650 million capital raise to lower its debt. Shares were indicated down 22% at $8.55 or so in early Monday trading.
Adeptus Health Inc. (NYSE: ADPT) was started as Buy with a price target of $135 (versus a $109.89 close) at Jefferies.
AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Assurant Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) was raised to Buy from Underperform and the price objective was raised to $89 from $69 at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) had its price target lowered to $54.50 from $59 at Canaccord Genuity, but the firm said that soft guidance was from the tough macro environment and that, despite merger concerns, the Avago acquisition is on track.
ALSO READ: 4 Top Jefferies US Growth Stocks to Buy Now
Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with an $8 price target (versus a $7.55 close) at Stifel.
Extended Stay America Inc. (NYSE: STAY) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $23 price target (versus a $19.00 close) at R.W. Baird.
ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy but the price target was raised to $21 from $12 (versus an $18.02 close) at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM) was started as Sector Perform and with a $37 price target (versus a $34.04 close) at RBC Capital Markets.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ: PLXS) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $44 from $40 (versus a $38.14 close) at Goldman Sachs.
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
ALSO READ: 6 Big Stocks With Massive Upside Calls
Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE: STC) was started as Market Perform with a $42 price target (versus a $41.12 close) at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA) was started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.
In case you missed Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Broadcom, CenturyLink, GoPro, Linn Energy, Stratasys, Whiting Petroleum and over a dozen more.
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