Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Colgate-Palmolive, Gilead, Navistar, Occidental, Pandora, Wal-Mart and More

Investing

Published: September 12, 2016 9:05 am

Last Updated: January 9, 2019 2:00 pm

Stocks were marginally lower, but that is tracking Europe lower after U.S. markets were slammed lower on Friday. It is important to realize that it had been almost two months without a 1% daily change, and we need to consider that investors have found a reason to buy every sell-off and pullback. Still, valuations are high and the Federal Reserve keeps jawboning about more rate hikes. Investors remain opportunistic and are looking for new ideas to generate income or gains ahead.

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 analyst research reports cover stocks to buy, and some reports feature stocks to sell or to avoid.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was raised to Buy from Neutral with an $80 price target (versus a $70.86 prior close) at Merrill Lynch. It has a 52-week trading range of $61.37 to $75.38.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was started with a Buy rating and was given a $112 price target (versus a $78.05 close) at Berenberg. It was maintained as Buy with a $91 target at Jefferies, but that was just after an upgrade last week. The stock has a 52-week range of $76.67 to $113.31 and a consensus analyst price target of $105.24.

Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) was reiterated as Sector Perform but the price target was raised to $18 from $13 at RBC Capital Markets. The 52-week range is $5.78 to $23.45.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral with a $78 price target (versus a $76.11 close) at JPMorgan. It has a 52-week range of $58.24 to $78.48 and a consensus price target of $79.05.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) was raised to Buy from Neutral with an $18 price target (versus a $13.62 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The 52-week range is $7.10 to $22.60, and the consensus price target of $14.56.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $83 from $76 (versus a $70.30 close) at Cowen. Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating and $86 price target. Shares have traded in a 52-week range of $56.30 to $75.19 and have a consensus price target of $73.16.

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 downgrades were seen as follows:

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) was raised to Buy from Neutral with an $825 price target (versus a $722.44 close) at UBS.

CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $35 from $30 (versus a $27.89 close) at Barclays.

Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) was maintained as Sector Perform but the price target was raised to $10 from $9 at RBC Capital Markets.

Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $24 price target (versus a $23.40 close) at Deutsche Bank.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) was started with an Accumulate rating and was assigned a $65 price target (versus a $49.92 close) at KLR Group.

Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight and the price target was raised to $99 from $94 (versus a $93.16 close) at Barclays.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) was maintained as Buy but was removed from the prized Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs.

Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $19 price target (after closing down over 6% at $15.67) at Credit Suisse.

Mirna Inc. (NASDAQ: MIRN) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a $6 price target (versus a $2.48 close) at H.C. Wainwright.

Rubicon Project Inc. (NYSE: RUBI) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) was started as Outperform with a valuation range of $125 to $127 (versus a $107.15 close) at Wells Fargo.

RetailMeNot Inc. (NASDAQ: SALE) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight with an $8.50 price target (versus a $11.49 close) at Morgan Stanley.

TrueCar Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $6.40 from $5.00 (versus an $8.83 close) at Morgan Stanley.

VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC) was started as Market Perform and was given a valuation range of $57 to $59 (versus a $58.43 close) at Wells Fargo. The 52-week range is $52.21 to $73.81 and the consensus price target is $68.97.

XL Group Ltd. (NYSE: XL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Janney.

Friday’s top analyst calls were in shares of Chesapeake Energy, JPMorgan, Melco Crown, Navistar, Randgold Resources, Silver Wheaton, Verifone 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.