Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Air Products, Akamai, Alibaba, BlackBerry, Consolidated Edison, InvenSense, Under Armour and More

Investing

Published: August 12, 2016 8:50 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 4:40 am

Stocks keep on hitting new all-time highs in what still feels like the most unloved bull market of them all. The markets were looking for direction on Friday. High valuations and extremely low interest rates are making for a conundrum for many investors. In fact, the volatility index is so low that investors have become complacent and could easily be caught off-guard if there are any unexpected shocks.

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. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy. Other reports feature stocks to sell or avoid.

At this point in the bull market, most Buy or Outperform ratings in traditional Dow and S&P 500 stocks come with an implied upside of 8% to 15%. One more consideration here, maybe after the next pullback, is that it would really only require the upside from seven of the 30 Dow stocks to get to Dow Jones Industrial Average of 20,000 in 2017. Also, five Dow stocks missed Thursday’s rally to all-time highs.

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

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $160 price target at JPMorgan. The stock closed at $149.05 and has a consensus analyst price target of $159.53. The 52-week trading range is $114.64 to $152.69.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. Shares closed at $51.41, and the consensus target price is $59.20. The 52-week range is $39.43 to $76.39.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) was up 5% at $91.77 on Thursday on the heels of an earnings beat, and shares were indicated up another 1% on Friday. The stock was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform and the price target was raised to $124 from $95 (versus a $91.77 prior close) at Raymond James. It also was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was lifted to $110 from $76 at Macquarie. Shares hit a 52-week high of $92.80 on Thursday.

BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. It closed at $7.88 and has a 52-week range of $5.96 to $9.46.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) was started with a Positive rating and was assigned a $50 price target (versus a $40.94 close) at Susquehanna. The consensus price target is $53.62, and the 52-week range is $31.61 to $52.94.

Consolidated Edison Inc. (NYSE: ED) was started with a Neutral rating and was given a $76 price target (versus a $78.39 close) at Citigroup. Its consensus price target is under the current share price at $75.27, and its 52-week range is $60.30 to $81.88.

InvenSense Inc. (NYSE: INVN) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $9 price target (versus a $6.80 close) at Pacific Crest. The stock was indicated up 4% at $7.09, and it has a 52-week range of $5.42 to $12.77 and a consensus price target of $7.50.

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 as follows:

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) was started as Positive with a $65 price target (versus a $54.60 close) at Susquehanna.

Energy Focus Inc. (NASDAQ: EFOI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Benchmark.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) was started with a Positive rating and was given a $73 price target (versus a $60.35 close) at Susquehanna. It was also raised to Buy from Neutral with a $75 price target at B. Riley.

Healthways Inc. (NASDAQ: HWAY) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a $27 price target (versus a $22.58 close) at Oppenheimer. The firm said that Healthways is now leaner and more focused on senior health offerings.

INC Research Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: INCR) was already rated as Buy but was add to the Conviction Buy list with a $62 price target at Goldman Sachs.

ONEOK Partners L.P. (NYSE: OKS) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Robert W. Baird.

Steven Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) was started as Positive with a $42 price target (versus a $35.27 close) at Susquehanna.

Summit Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: SMLP) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was slashed to $12 from $27 (versus a $10.63 close) at Morgan Stanley. This is just one more follow-on downgrade after many others this week.

Tesaro Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRO) was started as Outperform with a $122 price target (versus a $93.40 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Total System Services Inc. (NYSE: TSS) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird.

Thursday’s top analyst calls were in American Eagle Outfitters, Lam Research, Shake Shack, SunPower, Union Pacific and over a dozen more.

100 Million Americans Are Missing This Crucial Retirement Tool

The thought of burdening your family with a financial disaster is most Americans’ nightmare. However, recent studies show that over 100 million Americans still don’t have proper life insurance in the event they pass away.

Life insurance can bring peace of mind – ensuring your loved ones are safeguarded against unforeseen expenses and debts. With premiums often lower than expected and a variety of plans tailored to different life stages and health conditions, securing a policy is more accessible than ever.

A quick, no-obligation quote can provide valuable insight into what’s available and what might best suit your family’s needs. Life insurance is a simple step you can take today to help secure peace of mind for your loved ones tomorrow.

Click here to learn how to get a quote in just a few minutes.