Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Avon, Facebook, FireEye, InterXion, Oracle, Qualcomm, Time Warner, KeyCorp and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: November 5, 2015 8:55 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 5:31 pm

Stocks were indicated higher on Thursday, after a post-Yellen rate hike upgrade alert caused a sell-off on Wednesday. Yet again, investors are showing just how much they are willing to buy any pullback. Investors also are still looking for new opportunities and value. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each morning to find new ideas and hidden value for its readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. These are this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is going from bad to worse all over again. UBS cut its rating to Sell from an already cautious Neutral rating. Avon closed Wednesday at $3.45, and it had a consensus price target of $6.25 and a 52-week trading range of $3.18 to $10.65.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) won on earnings with explosive mobile usage (like the people driving with their nose in their phones). Shares were up 1.3% at $103.94 before earnings and were indicated up 4.2% at $108.34 to a new all-time high. While most firms have Buy or Outperform ratings, there were many price target hikes: Barclays ($140), Credit Suisse ($135), Jefferies ($135), FBR ($125), Morgan Stanley ($120), Oppenheimer ($130), RBC ($130) and Stifel ($120).

ALSO READ: 3 Networking Stocks to Buy That Could Post Big Earnings Soon

FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) has been slammed after disappointing guidance with earnings. Shares were indicated down 18% at $23.75 (versus a $29.12 prior close). Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded FireEye to Neutral from Buy with a $30 price objective. FBR downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform, and Wells Fargo also downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform. Lower price targets were issued by Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Stifel.

InterXion Holding N.V. (NYSE: INXN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, and the $36.00 price target compares to a $29.75 close. This was after beating earnings and in-line guidance. InterXion has a consensus analyst price target of $30.60 and a 52-week range of $24.88 to $33.16.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $44.00 price target (closed at $40.48) at FBR Capital Markets. Oracle has a consensus analyst price target of about $44.00 and a 52-week range of $35.14 to $46.71.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was indicated down 5.5% at $56.93 after earnings. We have seen multiple price target cuts: Cowen (Outperform) to $69 from $72, Topeka Capital Markets (Hold) to $61 from $65 and Mizuho (Neutral) to $64 from $68.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $79.00 price target (versus a $72.20 close) at Merrill Lynch. Time Warner closed down 6.6% at $72.20 on Wednesday. It had a consensus analyst target of closer to $89.50 and a 52-week range of $65.25 to $91.34.

ALSO READ: 3 Tech Stocks to Own for a Possible Year-End Rally
Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday were in shares of the following:

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) was reiterated as Buy at Jefferies, and the firm raised its price target to $45 from $33, after shares closed at $35.82.

Endurance International Group Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EIGI) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a $19.00 price target (versus a $12.01 close) at Oppenheimer.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna. KeyCorp closed at $12.81, has a consensus analyst price target of $14.90 and has a 52-week range of $12.04 to $15.70.

KCAP Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: KCAP) was maintained as Neutral, but the fair value estimate was cut to $6.50 from $7.00, at Janney Capital Markets.

KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE: KKR) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight with a $32 price target (down from $37.00 and versus a $34.82 close) at Morgan Stanley.

United Natural Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was cut to $50.00 from $56.00 (versus $a 49.95 close) at Piper Jaffray.

ALSO READ: 4 Stocks That Could Be Cut in Half by Year’s End

While this company’s primary listing is not U.S.-based, Glencore was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. Shares in the U.K. trading were down 1%.

If you missed Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Avis Budget, Baker Hughes, Enphase Energy, Hecla Mining, MannKind, Nokia, Tesla, U.S. Steel and over a dozen more companies.