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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AK Steel, CVS, Micron, Nike, Oracle, Pandora, Sunrun, US Steel and Many More
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Stocks were indicated higher yet again on Thursday, even after the Federal Reserve finally raised interest rates. The trend that has been in place for more than four years now is for investors and traders to buy every pullback. The reason is different each time, but the outcome has been the same.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each day of the week to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and some calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. These are this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.
AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) was downgraded to Sell from Hold and the price target was cut to $1.00 from $3.00 (versus a $2.19 prior close) at Deutsche Bank. AK Steel has a consensus analyst price target of $2.86 and a 52-week trading range of $1.99 to $6.37.
CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was lowered to $106.00 from $113.00 (versus a $97.50 close) at Goldman Sachs. CVS has a consensus analyst price target of $116.19 and a 52-week range of $81.37 to $113.65.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with an $18.00 price target (raised from $16.00 and versus a $14.07 close) at Morgan Stanley. The consensus price target is $20.72, and the 52-week range is $13.50 to $35.74.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was reiterated as Buy at Jefferies, and the price target was raised to $150 from $145 (versus a $128.61 close). Nike has a consensus price target of $142.36 and a 52-week range of $90.69 to $135.30.
Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) was reiterated as Buy with a $50 price target after earnings. Despite comments and guidance being muted, Jefferies sees 2016 being a breakout year for Oracle. Canaccord Genuity reiterated its Buy rating and its $44 price target.
Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target is $16.00 (versus an $11.63 close, after a 22% gain on Wednesday) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. Sunrun was indicated up another 4% at $12.15, and it has a consensus price target of $17.80 and a 52-week range of $6.36 to $13.31.
United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) was downgraded to Sell from Hold and the price target was slashed to $5.00 from $13.00 (versus an $8.31 close) at Deutsche Bank. It has a consensus analyst price target of $12.88 and a 52-week range of $6.80 to $29.62.
Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations were seen in shares of the following on Thursday:
American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $35 from $29 at Canaccord Genuity. The firm said that Canadian Solar’s global positioning remains solid and very little has changed with its overall story.
Cerus Corp. (NASDAQ: CERS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush.
Chimerix Inc. (NASDAQ: CMRX) was started as Buy with a $55.00 price target (versus a $35.21 close) at UBS.
Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) was reiterated as Buy with a $115.00 fair value estimate (versus a $94.13 close) at Janney Capital Markets, noting that investors should buy the stock on weakness.
Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS) was started as Buy with a $100 price target (versus an $83.56 close) at Jefferies.
Kate Spade & Co. (NYSE: KATE) was started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Marinus Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNS) was started as Outperform with a $14.00 price target (versus a $6.14 close) at RBC Capital Markets. That implies more than 100% upside if RBC is proven right.
Resmed Inc. (NYSE: RMD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham.
Relypsa Inc. (NASDAQ: RLYP) was started as Buy with a $63.00 price target (versus a $28.31 close) at H.C. Wainwright. This implies over 100% in upside if the firm is correct in its views. Relypsa has a consensus price target of $43.25 and a 52-week range of $10.26 to $42.26.
Sangamo BioSciences Inc. (NASDAQ: SGMO) was started as Buy at Janney Capital Markets, and the firm’s fair value estimate was set at $15.00 (versus a $9.33 close). The firm said that Sangamo Bio is a leader in genome editing with a long-term perspective.
Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $60 from $58 at Canaccord Genuity. The firm said that earnings growth should resume in earnest as Internet of Things, infrastructure and automotive rule the mix for Silicon Labs.
Surgical Care Affiliates Inc. (NASDAQ: SCAI) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $44.00 from $39.00 (versus a $37.70 close) at Goldman Sachs.
Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. (NYSE: TOO) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral with a price objective of $8.00 (versus a $7.80 close) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Versartis Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral with a $12 price target (versus an $11.95 close) at Credit Suisse.
If you missed Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of ConAgra, Dean Foods, GrubHub, HCA, NetApp, Northrop Grumman, SolarCity, UnitedHealth and over a dozen more.
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