Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: American Airlines, American Water, Netflix, SunPower, United Continental and More
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Stocks were indicated lower on Wednesday, with the Dow down close to another 100 points. Last week’s post-Brexit action proved yet again that investors have found numerous reasons to buy their favorite stocks after every major sell-off.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while other reports feature stocks to sell or avoid.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday morning:
American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform and the price target was cut to $28 from $47 (versus a $28.93 prior close) at Credit Suisse. The stock was indicated down 3.2% at $27.99, and its consensus analyst price target is $43.25.
American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch. Shares closed most recently at $84.76, while the consensus price target is much lower at $71.92. The 52-week trading range is $50.01 to $85.24.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was assumed with an Underperform rating at Jefferies, and the prior analyst price target of $120 was reset at $80. That is after closing at $97.91 and after a Needham downgrade on Tuesday to Hold from Buy. Jefferies sees Netflix’s runway span lasting for multiple years, but its research sees domestic subscriber growth flatter than expectations such that it will pressure the stock’s multiple despite international growth.
SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) was started with a Buy rating at UBS, which assigned it a $22 price target (versus a $14.47 close). Shares closed down 6.4% at $14.47 on Tuesday but were indicated up over 1% at $14.70 Wednesday morning. The consensus analyst target is $31.72, and the 52-week range is $13.29 to $31.10.
United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was cut to $42 from $64 (versus a $40.29 close) at Credit Suisse. The consensus price target is $63.85, and the stock has a 52-week range of $37.41 to $62.21.
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Other top analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD) was downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.
Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (NASDAQ: BECN) was started with a Hold rating and assigned a $46 price target (versus a $46.18 close) at Jefferies.
Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at CLSA.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. (NYSE: FBHS) was started with a Buy rating and $67 price target (versus a $57.76 close) at Jefferies
Legacy Reserves L.P. (NASDAQ: LGCY) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital Markets.
NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $23.75 price target (versus a $26.77 close) at Evercore ISI.
Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with an $85 price target (versus a $74.80 close) at Raymond James.
Telecom Italia S.p.A. (NYSE: TI) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
WPX Energy Inc. (NYSE: WPX) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $14.75 price target (versus a $9.05 close) at Goldman Sachs.
Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Cerner, Energy Transfer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netflix, KeyCorp, Hershey and a dozen more companies.
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