Stocks were indicated mixed on Thursday after a sharp rally on Wednesday. This is a shortened trading day due to Christmas coming tomorrow, and investors and traders who are around should expect much lighter trading volumes. The stock market is still fighting for a positive 2015. The trend that has prevailed for over four years now is that investors have bought every single market pullback.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning of the week to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy. Others cover stocks to sell or avoid. These are the top analyst calls for Thursday, December 24, 2015.

Bed Bath & Beyond

Credit Suisse maintained a Neutral rating on Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), but the firm lowered its estimates and cut the price target to $51 from $53. Many analysts lowered ratings or target prices on Wednesday after its warning.

Bed Bath & Beyond closed down 4.6% at $48.97 Wednesday, after its sales and earnings warning, and it put in a new 52-week low of $47.98.

Celgene

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) was reiterated as Buy with a price target of $155 (versus a $122.07 prior close, after a gain of 9.8%) at Argus. The firm said that Celgene’s patent settlement news should bring unfettered patent protection for the drug Revlimid through 2022 and strengthens its revenue prospects.

Celgene has a consensus analyst price target of $142.75 and a 52-week trading range of $92.98 to $140.72.

DigitalGlobe

Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on DigitalGlobe Inc. (NYSE: DGI), but the firm lowered its price target to $30 from $36 on lower revenue forecasts. Just keep in mind that Digital Globe was last seen at $14.47.

DigitalGlobe reached an agreement with its banks to permit the repurchase of additional shares. It has a 52-week trading range of $12.41 to $35.91.

Micron Technology

After its earnings results, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was maintained as Buy at Argus, but the firm cut the price target to $22 from $26. Argus thinks that Micron has positioned itself for a better 2016 despite early challenges, and the Buy rating is really meant for risk-tolerant (aggressive) investors who are aware of the risks of investing in a beaten-down stock.

Micron shares closed down over 2% lower at $14.30 on Wednesday. Its 52-week range is $13.50 to $35.74, and the consensus price target is now closer to $18, after the analysts have continually dropped its price targets.

Paychex

Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $59 from $56 (versus a $53.95 close) at Argus. The firm noted specifically that Paychex should benefit from the implementation of the Affordable Care Act as it launches solutions to help companies be compliant and account properly for the increasingly complex health care mandates.

Paychex has a consensus analyst price target of $49.75 and a 52-week trading range of $41.59 to $54.78.

Other Key Analyst Calls

Other key analyst calls were seen in the following companies on Thursday morning:
Adamas Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ADMS) was reiterated as Outperform at Credit Suisse and the price target was raised to $37 from $35 (versus a $30.85 close). The firm said that Adamas gets some holiday cheers after positive top line study data, so it raised expectations for 2017.

Bruker Corp. (NASDAQ: BRKR) was reiterated as Neutral but the price objective was raised to $26 from $24 at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The firm also raised EPS targets for 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Catalent Inc. NYSE: CTLT) was maintained as Buy at Merrill Lynch, but the firm lowered estimates and lowered its price objective to $31 from $35 (versus a $25.04 close). The estimates were lowered to account for the softgel facility suspension, currency headwinds and some unfavorable mix trends, but the Buy rating was kept on due to favorable market trends and reasonable valuation.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) may be in a merger now, but Topeka Capital Markets maintained its Hold rating and raised its price target to $66 from $58 (versus a $65.62 close).

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) was maintained as Neutral at Credit Suisse, but the target price is $80 (versus an $86.85 close). The team sees many hurdles and a long, drawn-out process for the Canadian Pacific attempts to acquire NSC.

Summit Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: SMLP) was maintained as Buy at Merrill Lynch, but the firm’s price objective was slashed to $23 from $40 (versus a $17.52 close). The firm said that Summit Midstream’s general partner commitment bodes well for the stock, and it is expecting drop-down support despite some risks having merit here.

Transmontaigne Partners L.P. (NYSE: TLP) was raised to Buy from Hold and it has a $27 price target (versus a $24.63 close) at Stifel Nicolaus. Its shares have a 52-week trading range of $20.26 to $43.00.

If you missed Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Apple, Celgene, General Electric, Micron Technology, Nike, ONEOK, Darden Restaurants, Delphi Automotive and over a dozen more.

Also, Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alcoa, Apple, Box, Chipotle Mexican Grill, CyberArk Software, Encana, NetApp, Whiting Petroleum and more.

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