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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Aetna, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Royal Gold, Sirius XM and Many More
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Stocks were handily lower Friday morning after Janet Yellen and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to keep zero interest rates here for just a tad longer. The one trend we keep seeing is that investors routinely buy pullbacks and dips. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some of these analyst calls are on stocks to buy, but others cover stocks to sell or to avoid. These are this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.
Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $140 price target (versus a $117.76 prior close) at Cantor Fitzgerald. Aetna has a consensus price target of $140.25 and a 52-week trading range of $71.81 to $134.40.
Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) was reiterated as Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, but the price objective was raised to $108 from $101. The firm raised its Jardiance peak sales to $3.5 billion, based on such positive CV results, and the stock remains its top pick in the U.S. Major Pharma group.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was reiterated as Buy with a $150 price target at Argus. This call reflects continued strong sales of the company’s hepatitis C drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi and the upcoming launch of a new version of an existing HIV drug with an improved safety profile. The stock has a $125.39 consensus price target, and the official high price target in the Thomson Reuters universe is $141.00.
Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) was started as Outperform and was assigned a $56 price target (versus a $48.18 close) at FBR Capital Markets. Royal Gold has a $74.00 consensus price target and a 52-week range of $42.21 to $77.20.
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was started as Buy at Gabelli. No price target was seen. Sirius XM closed at $3.86 and has a consensus price target of $4.60 and a 52-week range of $3.14 to $4.04.
ALSO READ: 6 Stocks to Buy When Interest Rates Rise
Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen this Friday were in the following:
Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) was started as Hold with a $217 price target (versus a $199.32 close) at Maxim Group.
CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE: CLC) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was cut to $53 from $66 (versus a $48.39 close) at R.W. Baird.
FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen, but the price target was reduced to $51 from $60 (versus a $38.79 close). FMC has a 52-week range of $38.70 to $64.72.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) was started as Market Perform with an $18 price target (versus a $12.05 close) at FBR Capital Markets.
Golar LNG Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLNG) was started as Neutral with a $40 price target (versus $35.38 close) at Credit Suisse.
ALSO READ: Rite Aid Defended Firmly by Analyst on Weakness
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and the price target was slashed to $55 from $83 (versus a $52.59 close) at RBC Capital Markets.
Integrated Device Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) was started as Buy with a $25 price objective at Merrill Lynch. The firm sees 25% upside from a secular growth from networking, data center, solid execution and new wireless charging opportunities.
iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. iRobot closed at $31.34 and has a 52-week range of $27.55 to $38.10.
La Quinta Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LQ) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, and the price target was cut to $20 from $28 (versus an $18.97 close).
ALSO READ: 4 Safe High-Yield Dividend Stocks for Volatility
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) was started as Outperform with an $8.00 price target (versus a $6.93 close) at FBR Capital Markets.
PMC-Sierra Inc. (NASDAQ: PMCS) was started as Outperform with a $9.00 price target (versus a $6.30 close) at Wedbush Securities. Shares have a $9.75 consensus price target and a 52-week range of $5.65 to $9.86.
Superior Energy Services Inc. (NYSE: SPN) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and the price target was cut to $17 from $25 (versus a $14.81 close) at RBC Capital Markets.
The Fed issued new economic targets out to 2018, some of which are lower, after its decision to keep interest rates at zero.
In case you missed Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Gap, Hewlett-Packard, Lululemon Athletica, NVIDIA, Under Armour and over a dozen more companies.
ALSO READ: 4 Cheap Large Cap Tech Stocks for 2016
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