Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Citrix Systems, Enbridge Energy Partners, Facebook, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Many More

Investing

Published: August 1, 2016 8:50 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 5:04 am

The stock market hit new highs in July, and the first day of August was calling for stocks to be up marginally. Even with the S&P 500 trading at 17.8 times forward earnings, investors are looking for new ideas and are more than willing to buy stocks on every pullback.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning of the week. The goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some 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 Monday morning:

Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) was downgraded to Underperform from Hold and the price target was cut to $71 from $80 (versus an $89.13 prior close) at Jefferies. The firm believes the majority of activist-driven efficiency gains have been realized. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $60.91 to $90.00, and the consensus analyst price target is $90.10.

Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: EEP) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, and the firm raised its price target to $27 from $25 (versus a $23.36 close) in the call. The 52-week range is $14.27 to $31.35, and the consensus target price is $23.40.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was maintained as Buy at Merrill Lynch after beating earnings last week, but the firm has now removed it from its key US 1 list. There was an adjustment based on the overall composition of the list. Facebook closed at $123.94, its consensus price target is $153.07 and the 52-week range is $72.00 to $128.33.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $25 from $21 (versus a $21.02 close) at Credit Suisse. What stands out about this call is that Credit Suisse said the shares could be worth about $31 in a complete break-up scenario. It has a consensus analyst price target of $20.37.

Goldman Sachs has now lowered its equity allocation rating to Underweight as the stock market was called as being at the top of a fat and flat range in the three-month asset allocation. Goldman Sachs remains Neutral on stock weightings over a 12-month period, and it has maintained its Overweight position in cash.

You can follow @Jonogg on Twitter if you want the daily analyst calls and research updates directly on your Twitter feed.

Other key analyst upgrades and downgraded were seen in the following:

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AXL) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform but the price target was raised to $17 from $16 (versus a $17.41 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $8 from $7 at Jefferies.

CVR Refining L.P. (NYSE: CVRR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, and the target price was cut to $6 from $8 (versus a $6.42 close).

Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney, with a fair value estimate of $67 (versus a $58.49 close).

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $39 price objective at Merrill Lynch.

Golar LNG Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLNG) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price objective was raised to $21 from $19 (versus a $16.96 close) at Merrill Lynch.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE: MUSA) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.

Navios Maritime Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: NAP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price objective was cut to $13 from $14 (versus a $13.13 close) at Merrill Lynch.

Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus, with the call noting a slowing of U.S. revenue.

Taubman Centers Inc. (NYSE: TCO) was removed from the U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.

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