Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Citizens, EOG, Intuit, Keryx, Marathon, Transocean and Many More

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By Jon C. Ogg Published
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Stocks surged higher on Monday after the Dow had a miserable prior week. Yet again we see that investors will buy their favorite stocks on every stock market pullback. 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, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

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

Citizens Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: CFG) was started as Buy with a $32.00 price objective (versus a $26.70 close) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Citizens has a consensus price target of $27.73 and a 52-week trading range of $21.35 to $28.71.

EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer. EOG closed down 5% at $73.76 on Friday, with a consensus price target of $99.75 and a 52-week range of $72.86 to $110.47.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. Intuit closed up 1.2% at $105.44 on Friday, versus a consensus price target of $102.47 and a 52-week range of $77.96 to $109.21.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: KERX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Roth Capital, and the price target was cut to $6 from $11 (versus a $6.27 close).

Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer. After a 5.4% drop to $18.40 on Friday, the consensus price target is $30.91 and the 52-week range is $17.86 to $41.92.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) was raised to Hold from Underperform with a price target of $13.00 (versus a $13.57 close) at Jefferies. Transocean has a consensus price target of $13.07 and a 52-week range of $12.08 to $39.69.

ALSO READ: 6 Analyst Stock Picks Called to Rise 50% to 100%

Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades this Monday were as follows:

Aspen Aerogels Inc. (NYSE: ASPN) was started as Buy with a $9.50 price target (versus a $7.00 close) at Needham.

Chesapeake Utilities Corp. (NYSE: CPK) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the fair value estimates is $53 (versus a $46.62 close) at Janney Capital Markets. The firm said that the sell-off and raised estimates make it attractive.

CrossAmerica Partners L.P. (NYSE: CAPL) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was slashed to $25 from $40 (versus a $24.42 close) at R.W. Baird.

Energen Corp. (NYSE: EGN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.

Genesis Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: GEN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at RBC Capital Markets, and the price target was raised to $10.00 (versus a $6.95 close).

HomeAway Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) was maintained as Neutral with a fair value estimate of $31.00 (versus a $30.77 close) at Janney Capital Markets.

ALSO READ: Insider Buying Skyrockets as Stock Market Stalls in August

Laredo Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: LPI) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with an $11.00 price target (versus an $8.01 close) at Raymond James.

New Home Co. Inc. (NYSE: NWHM) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was cut to $14.00 from $17.50 (versus a $14.70 close) at JPMorgan.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OLLI) was started as Overweight with a target price of $23.00 (versus a $19.94 close) at JPMorgan. Keybanc Capital Markets started coverage as Overweight with a $24.00 price target. Credit Suisse started Ollie’s as Neutral with a $20 price target. RBC started it as Outperform and with a $23 price target.

Omeros Corp. (NASDAQ: OMER) was started as Buy with a price target of $38.00 (versus a $14.89 close) at Roth Capital.

Parkway Properties Inc. (NYSE: PKY) was downgraded to Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets and the price target was cut to $18.00.

PharMerica Corp. (NYSE: PMC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

PHH Corp. (NYSE: PHH) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $21.00 (versus a $15.60 close) at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) was reiterated as Neutral and with a fair value estimate of $1,200.00 (versus a $1,317.35 close) at Janney Capital Markets.

Stonegate Mortgage Corp. (NYSE: SGM) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, and the firm cut this price target down to $7 from $10 (versus a $7.73 close).

Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. (NYSE: SXL) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Southcross Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: SXE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $60.00 price target (versus a $62.96 close) at Goldman Sachs.

ALSO READ: 3 Large Biotech Stocks to Buy Despite Higher Interest Rates Coming

In case you missed Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included BankUnited, Barrick Gold, ConocoPhillips, Michael Kors, Mylan, Viacom, Disney and over a dozen more companies.

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About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

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