Stocks were down marginally on Monday morning, but the reality is that the results are so low that no real direction can be determined. The Dow is now down 600 points from its April 21 high for 2016. Even with the notion of “sell in May and go away,” investors have proven that they are looking for opportunities and will buy the big market dips.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning. The goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and other reports feature stocks to sell or to avoid.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday morning:

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price objective was raised to $11.00 from $10.50 (versus a $9.11 prior close) at Merrill Lynch. The firm sees better Alcoa results ahead from Firth Rixson ramping up and a pickup in jet engine demand. Alcoa has a consensus analyst price target of $10.86 and a 52-week trading range of $6.14 to $13.05.

Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG. It has a consensus price target of $24.20 and a 52-week range of $14.18 to $23.01.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) was added to the prized Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs, which sees some 29% upside, and it sees Schlumberger as best positioned in the oil patch of peers. The consensus price target is $87.74, and the 52-week range is $59.60 to $92.61.

Sony Corp. NYSE: SNE) was reiterated as Buy with a $38.26 price target (versus a $26.44 close) at Merrill Lynch. The firm said that Sony’s growth story based on games and music is unchanged. The consensus price target is $38.26, and the 52-week range is $19.90 to $31.88.

Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) was raised to Buy from Underperform with a $10 price objective (versus an $8.10 close) at Merrill Lynch. The firm sees an attractive valuation after shares fell more than 20% in just two weeks. The consensus price target is $9.50, and the 52-week range is $8.00 to $16.74.

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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were as follows:
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price objective was raised to $14 from $10 (versus an $11.23 close) at Merrill Lynch. The upgrade is ahead of its engine cycle inflection point and airframe build growth expected to drive better aero market volumes.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, based on concerns about overtime work boosting its costs and due to increasing competition.

C.R. Bard Inc. (NYSE: BCR) was maintained as Buy with a $231 price objective (versus a $219.74 close) at Merrill Lynch. This was after an investor day showing that the Gore acquisition will add value within two years.

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: IART) was reiterated as Buy at Argus, and the firm raised its price target to $90 from $80. The firm said that a premium valuation here is warranted based on Integra’s strong sales growth, steady flow of new products, and rising margins.

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $61 from $58 (versus a $47.89 close) at Jefferies. The firm said its survey suggests sizable TD market and valbenazine adoption.

PDC Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PDCE) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform and the valuation range was trimmed to $60 to $65 from $65 to $70 in the call.

Red Rock Resorts Inc. (NYSE: RRR) was started as Outperform and the valuation range was set at $21 to $24 at Wells Fargo. Merrill Lynch started it as Buy with a $24 price objective.

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (NASDAQ: FOXA) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $40 from $37 at Credit Suisse. The firm also added the stock to the U.S. and Global Focus Lists (to replace Time Warner). The company is raising the Hulu valuation to $25 billion.

U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SLCA) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $33 price target (versus a $26.77 close) at RBC Capital Markets. The firm believes that the market is not factoring in the company’s earnings power ahead.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Aflac, Applied Materials, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gap, Noble, Teekay Tankers, Urban Outfitters and over a dozen more.

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