Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: EMC, FitBit, Keurig Green Mountain, Stratsys, Tesla, Wendy's and Many More

Stocks have ticked higher on Thursday morning, but they were mixed and directionless earlier in the morning futures trading. Yet again, in a trend that is now about four years old, investors have bought every stock market dip. 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 to avoid.

These are this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $34 from $30 at Credit Suisse. This is on the heels of market chatter about a reach-up deal from VMware, but Credit Suisse sees ongoing board discussion, investor activism and management succession all play in as well. Merrill Lynch also reiterated its Buy rating and $32 price objective.

FitBit Inc. (NYSE: FIT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Dougherty. Also, R.W. Baird maintained its Outperform rating but raised its target to $54 from $52, and Barclays maintained its Equal Weight rating but raised its target to $49 from $45.

Keurig Green Mountain Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) was hammered after poor revenues and guidance, as well as layoffs. Canaccord Genuity cut its rating to Hold from Buy and its price target was slashed to $65 from $120. UBS has a Neutral rating but cut its target to $59 from $86. Morgan Stanley downgraded it to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $60 from $110 in the call.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup. While no price target was readily available, this is on the heels of a couple other valuation upgrades after the stock had sold off so much after earnings.

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was reiterated as Outperform with a $325 price target at Credit Suisse. Bank of America Merrill Lynch maintained its Underperform rating and $180 price objective, although it is the most pessimistic of all firms.

Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $12 price target (versus a $10.11 close) at JPMorgan. Wendy’s has an $11.95 consensus target price and a 52-week range of $7.61 to $11.71.

ALSO READ: 5 Analyst Picks from July That Could Double

Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations this Tuesday were seen in the following:

American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) was reiterated as Buy with a $112 target price (versus a $96.64 close) at Argus, with the call pointing to very strong second-quarter earnings.

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) was reiterated Buy at Janney Capital Markets, but the fair value estimate was raised to $66.00 from $63.00 in the call. This is also one of our 10 Stocks to Own for the Next Decade.

Avolon Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: AVOL) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at Argus, following a strong run-up in its shares.

Coupons.com Inc. (NYSE: COUP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Craig-Hallum.

DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price objective was raised to $19 from $18 at Merrill Lynch, based on an attractive valuation.

ALSO READ: 4 Large Cap Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy on Strong Health Care Trends

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus after the company’s weak near-term outlook.

Endologix Inc. (NASDAQ: ELGX) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Energy Transfer Equity L.P. (NYSE: ETE) was started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP) was started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

FleetCor Technologies Inc. (NYSE: FLT) was raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna.

KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Merrill Lynch, noting a cautious stance on its LNG cycle offset by restructuring upside and cash.

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LL) was maintained as Neutral and the price target was cut to $13 from $18 at Piper Jaffray. This is after a 27% drop to $13.27 the prior day.

MDC Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MDC) was raised to Sector Weight from Underperform at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at R.W. Baird. This is after a 10% drop to $35.95 the prior day.

Plains GP Holdings L.P. (NYSE: PAGP) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at R.W. Baird. This is after a 23% drop to $18.73 the prior day.

ALSO READ: 8 Big Stocks Trading Under 10 Times Earnings

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE: TMHC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee.

Tronox Ltd. (NYSE: TROX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley.

In case you missed Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of Apple, Cheniere Energy, First Solar, Hilton Worldwide, National Oilwell Varco, Disney and over a dozen more.

The #1 Thing to Do Before You Claim Social Security (Sponsor)

Choosing the right (or wrong) time to claim Social Security can dramatically change your retirement. So, before making one of the biggest decisions of your financial life, it’s a smart idea to get an extra set of eyes on your complete financial situation.

A financial advisor can help you decide the right Social Security option for you and your family. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you.

Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you optimize your Social Security outcomes.

 

Have questions about retirement or personal finance? Email us at [email protected]!

By emailing your questions to 24/7 Wall St., you agree to have them published anonymously on a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

By submitting your story, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.