Stocks were pounded lower yet again on Wednesday, but this time on fears of a North Korean hydrogen bomb test. The stock market is off to a rocky start in 2016, but the trend that has prevailed from 2011 to 2015 was that investors bought every market pullback.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some of the daily analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while other reports cover stocks to sell or avoid.

These are the top analyst calls for Wednesday, January 6, 2016.

Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE) was started as Buy with a $91.00 fair value estimate at Janney Capital Markets. The price targets have come cratering down elsewhere, with the consensus now $119.92, versus closer to $200 earlier in the fourth quarter of 2015. Bluebird Bio shares closed at $61.76 on Tuesday and have a 52-week trading range of $48.85 to $197.35.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight and the price target was cut to $83.00 from $91.00 (versus a $79.08 prior close) at Barclays. The consensus analyst price target is $92.61, and the 52-week range is $65.09 to $88.49.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was reinstated as Outperform with a $63.00 price target (versus a $55.65 close) at Credit Suisse. The consensus price target is $70.32 and the 52-week range is $50.00 to $64.99. The firm’s view on Comcast is an updated US Media & Entertainment sector reiterated as Overweight for 2016, noting that despite 2015 being tough, 2016 will be dominated by the impact of various response strategies from the incumbents.

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) was reiterated as Buy with a $108.00 price objective (versus an $84.11 close) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The firm acknowledged Eli Lilly’s lower guidance and trimmed earnings estimates, but it believes that the company guided conservatively with room to beat estimates, and it sees a positive pipeline.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was cut to $50.00 from $62.00 (versus a $45.70 close) at JPMorgan. Hyatt has a consensus price target of $58.33 and a 52-week range of $45.02 to $61.99.

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform and the price target was raised to $250.00 from $220.00 (versus a $218.26 close) at RBC Capital Markets. The consensus price target is $229.00. The 52-week range is $181.91 to $227.91.

Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Evercore ISI. The stock closed at $7.89 and has a consensus price target of $9.05 and a 52-week range of $5.88 to $9.47. Can you say prior merger uncertainty overhang?

Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday included the following:
American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: MTGE) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $15.50 (versus a $14.41 close) at Credit Suisse.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $14.00 from $10.00 at Jefferies. Shares closed at $9.71, within a 52-week range of $7.85 to $16.83 The consensus price target is over $16.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was reiterated as Buy at Jefferies and the price target was raised to $357.00 from $318.00.

Blackbaud Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB) was started as Neutral with a $75.00 price objective, based on its valuation, at Merrill Lynch.

CBL & Associates Properties Inc. (NYSE: CBL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight and the price target was cut to $83.00 from $91.00 (versus a $79.08 close) at Barclays.

Choice Hotels International Inc. (NYSE: CHH) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral and the price target was cut to $43.00 from $50.00 (versus a $49.81 close) at JPMorgan.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) was reiterated as Buy at Jefferies and the price target was raised to $149.00 from $141.00.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was reiterated as Hold at Jefferies, but the price target was cut to $111.00 from $115.00.

HCA Holdings (NYSE: HCA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform and the price target was cut to $74.00 from $79.00 (versus a $66.44 close) at Leerink. An opposite call was seen from Raymond James, which raised its rating to Strong Buy from Outperform with a $95.00 price target.

HCP Inc. (NYSE: HCP) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, but the firm’s price target was cut to $37.00 from $40.00.

HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HSBC) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IDRA) was started as Outperform and assigned a price target of $6.00 (versus a $2.88 close) at Wedbush Securities.
Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ: INCY) was maintained as Buy at Jefferies, but the price target was cut to $141.00 from $142.00.

iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.

Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: KPTI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $14.00 from $20.00.

Magellan Health Inc. (NASDAQ: MGLN) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight with a $61.00 price target at Barclays.

Realogy Corp. (NYSE: RLGY) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse. The call is on the heels of a sharp pullback better reflecting the risks, and the price target was lowered to $36.00 from $39.00.

RPC Inc. (NYSE: RES) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $15.00 from $11.00 (versus an $11.50 close) at FBR Capital Markets.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush Securities.

Stonegate Mortgage Corp. (NYSE: SGM) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with an $8.00 price target (versus a $5.09 close) at Credit Suisse.

Taser International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $25.00 price target (versus a $17.02 close) at JPMorgan.

Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $23.00 from $28.00 (versus a $25.52 close) at Barclays.

Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $80.00 from $84.00 (versus a $77.24 close) at Barclays.

In case you missed Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Anadarko Petroleum, CSC, DuPont, First Solar, Halliburton, Mattel, Priceline, Starbucks and almost two dozen more companies. If you were one of those still out on holiday and just trickling in late this week, Monday’s top analyst calls were in Amazon.com, Chesapeake Energy, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Deere, Delphi Automotive, Lululemon Athletica, Pandora Media, McDonald’s, Atlassian and well over a dozen more companies.

 

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.