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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AMD, Alibaba, Boeing, Pandora, Starbucks, Twitter, AT&T and Many More
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Stocks were indicated higher on Friday morning, but the market finally took a much needed breather on Thursday after about two weeks of straight gains. Brexit, high valuations, a low VIX and political concerns just aren’t holding back the market. Investors keep proving that they want to buy their favorite stocks on pullbacks.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning in an effort to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others feature stocks to sell or avoid.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday morning:
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) was last seen trading up about 10% at $5.76 in Friday’s early post-earnings indications. Its prior 52-week high was $5.57. AMD was reiterated as Buy at Jefferies, and the target price was raised to $6.75 from $5.50. Credit Suisse has an Underperform rating but raised its price target to $5.50 from $3.50.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $101 from $86 (versus an $84.18 prior close) at Jefferies. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $57.20 to $86.42 and a consensus analyst price target of $96.56.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was reiterated as Buy with a $165 price target (versus a $133.53 close) at Jefferies. This is after Boeing recognized costs on the two remaining 787 test aircraft and took charges on the 747 and KC-46 tanker programs, for a total of $3.23 per share.
Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) was downgraded to Underperform from Sector Weight at Pacific Crest. The stock closed at $12.00, down 2.8%, despite word that Liberty had once floated a potential buyout interest. The 52-week range is $7.10 to $22.60, and the consensus price target is $14.50.
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was indicated down 1.4% at $56.81 after revenues were soft, but the stock was down over 3% shortly after the earnings report. It was maintained as Buy at Jefferies, but the price target was cut to $65 from $70. Credit Suisse maintained a Neutral rating but cut its target price to $58 from $61. Merrill Lynch maintained it at Buy, but the price target was cut to $67 from $68. Its 52-week range is $42.05 to $64.00.
Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. Twitter closed at $18.39, and it has a consensus target price of $18.40 and a 52-week range of $13.73 to $36.67.
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Other top analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen as follows:
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $48 from $44 at Jefferies.
Athenahealth Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $147 from $165 (versus a $137.20 close) at Deutsche Bank.
CIGNA Corp. (NYSE: CI) was already rated as Buy but it was added to the Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs. Its price target is $165 (versus a $140.32 close).
D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch, but the firm maintained its $36 price objective as the shares have reached their valuation target.
Eldorado Gold Corp. (NYSE: EGO) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was cut to $5.25 from $7.00 (versus a $4.44 close) at Credit Suisse. The firm sees near-term geopolitical headwinds likely dampening a rerating from potential upcoming positive catalysts.
EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) was started with a Buy rating and assigned an $88 fair value estimate at Janney, implying a roughly 9% upside and a 4.7% dividend yield.
PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $26 price target at JPMorgan. Credit Suisse maintained its Underperform rating but raised its target price to $18 from $16.
Relypsa Inc. (NASDAQ: RLYP) is being acquired, so analysts are making their changes. It was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. Citigroup downgraded it to Neutral from Buy. H.C. Wainwright cut its rating to Hold from Buy.
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) was maintained as Outperform at Credit Suisse, but the firm lowered its price target to $48 from $54. Pricing fragility was the reason for weakness.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included shares of American Express, AT&T, eBay, Intel, Qualcomm, Teradyne and close to a dozen more.
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