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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apple, Freeport-McMoRan, Kinross Gold, Pfizer, Plains All American, Salesforce, Tesla, Yelp and More
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Stocks were getting pounded on Tuesday. The selling pressure seems to not have an end in 2016, even after investors successfully bought every dip for over four years. It still seems that investors will look for value at some point in a volatile market. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each day to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some of these analyst reports are on stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, February 9, 2016.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Overweight with a $172 price target at Piper Jaffray. Apple closed up 1% at $95.01 after Merrill Lynch gave it a positive iPhone 7 view on Monday, but shares were indicated down 0.8% at $94.25 on Tuesday. Apple has a consensus analyst target price of $136.18 and a 52-week trading range of $92.00 to $134.54.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) was maintained as Hold but the price target was raised to $6.50 from $5.00 at Jefferies, with the firm noting that Freeport-McMoRan could have asset sales as M&A activity in the mining sector should increase this year.
Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $2.75 from $2.25 at Credit Suisse. The company is expected to have potential margin expansion, and the firm increased its net asset value to $2.43 per share from $2.25 per share.
24/7 Wall St.ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ON) was down 8% at $7.40. After earnings we have seen Credit Suisse maintain an Outperform rating but cut the target to $11.50 from $15.00. It was also maintained as Outperform at Baird, with a target cut to $12.00 from $13.00. Susquehanna maintained its Positive rating but lowered its target to $12.00 from $14.00.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was already rated as Buy with a $39.00 price objective at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, but the firm added it to the prized US 1 List and called it the new top pick for 2016. The firm noted that Pfizer’s current valuation is an attractive entry point, with roughly 37% upside as a standalone entity or 51% upside with Allergan.
Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch, and the firm lowered its price objective to $20 from $25. The firm thinks that the fourth-quarter miss had been foreshadowed, but they also think the market is likely to continue to question the company’s visibility.
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was raised to Hold from Sell with a $54 price target (versus a $54.05 prior close) at Jefferies. Salesforce was raised due to improved traction in the enterprise, continued solid mid-market performance and significant deterioration in the stock price in sympathy with the market.
Tesla Motors Corp. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was maintained as Underweight at Barclays, and the price target was cut to $165 from $180. Analysts keep cutting Tesla on weak demand and low energy prices, with its stock down 9% on Monday and indicated down another 4% at $141.50 on Tuesday. Tesla still has a consensus target above $260, but that may not reflect two newer target cuts.
Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) fell 11% to $16.06 after earnings came out early on Monday. Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating and kept its $44 price target based on sales force growth accelerating and the revenue impact will come. Oppenheimer maintained its Perform rating with lower earnings. The firm B. Riley raised its rating to Neutral from Sell with a $15 target price. Axiom Capital has a Hold rating but lowered its target price down to $18 from $25.
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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades seen on Tuesday were in the following:
Antero Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: AM) was started as Buy with a $27.00 fair value estimate (versus a $20.45 close) at Janney Capital Markets. The firm believes the pullback in the shares presents an attractive opportunity that will provide superior long-term returns.
Arcelor Mittal S.A. (NYSE: MT) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) was started as Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) was reiterated as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) was maintained as Overweight but the price target was cut to $120 from $150 at Barclays.
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (NASDAQ: LJPC) was started as Outperform with a $40 price target at Cowen.
Memorial Resource Development Corp. (NYSE: MRD) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) was reiterated as Buy with a $65 price target at Argus.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) was reiterated as Underweight with a $33 price target at Piper Jaffray.
PrivateBancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTB) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $42 price target at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Qualys Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) was down 6.1% to $22.51 on Monday and shares were indicated lower after earnings. Credit Suisse reinstated Qualys with an Outperform rating with a $35 target (versus a $45 prior).
Rio Tino PLC (NYSE: RIO) was started as Sell at RBC Capital Markets.
United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) was maintained as Buy at Jefferies, but the price target was slashed by one-third to $60 from $90 (versus a $47.00 close).
If you missed out on Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of Athenhealth, Baker Hughes, Cisco, LinkedIn, Orbital-ATK, Tableau Software and over a dozen more companies.
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