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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: American Express, Encana, Petrobras, Raytheon, Tesla, Walgreens and More
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Stocks were indicated to open lower on Thursday after Wednesday’s recovery rally. It is no secret that the election and a weaker economy keep posing risks, along with high market valuations. Still, investors keep proving that each sell-off is an opportunity to buy. Investors are also looking for new ideas to generate income or gains ahead.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning. The goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst research reports cover stocks to buy, and some feature stocks to sell or avoid.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday morning:
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral at Nomura, and the firm lowered its price target to $56 from $62 (versus a $64.36 prior close). On top of a market share loss, Nomura worries about softer than expected revenues and higher than expected expenses. American Express has a 52-week trading range of $50.27 to $77.82 and a consensus analyst price target of $67.77.
Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $14 from $13 (versus a $10.93 close) at Jefferies. The firm noted that the analyst day offered a robust and capital efficient five-year growth plan. Encana has a 52-week range of $3.00 to $11.10 and a consensus price target of $11.37.
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, was reiterated as Overweight at Morgan Stanley, and the firm raised its price target to $13 from $10 (versus a $9.93 close). The 52-week range is $2.71 to $10.24, and the consensus price target that is much lower at $7.91.
Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) was started as Outperform with a $170 price target at Robert W. Baird. The stock closed at $137.13 on Wednesday and no major price change was indicated on Thursday morning. It has a 52-week range of $108.83 to $143.39 and a consensus price target of $155.31.
Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut handily at Goldman Sachs, with that target down to $185 from $240 (versus a $208.46 close). Shares were indicated down almost 3% at $202.50 on Thursday morning, and the 52-week range is $141.05 to $269.34. Tesla has a consensus price target of $228.33.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) was started with a Buy rating at UBS. The shares closed at $80.51 on Wednesday, and no major price changes were indicated on Thursday. The 52-week range is $71.50 to $95.74, and the consensus price target is $92.73.
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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen as follows:
ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) was last seen down almost 40% at $39.70 after announcing the termination of a Phase 3 trial due to a mortality imbalance. Jefferies maintained a Buy rating, but the firm slashed its target price to $58 from $86. JPMorgan downgraded it to Neutral from Overweight, and Barclays cut its rating to Equal Weight from Overweight.
BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Callon Petroleum Co. (NYSE: CPE) was started as Neutral at Mizuho, and the firm set a $16 price target (versus a $15.67 close) in the call.
CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBG) was started as Outperform with a $35 price target (versus a $27.52 close) at Wedbush Securities.
Colony Capital Inc. (NYSE: CLNY) was started as Outperform with a $26 price target (versus a $17.98 close) at Wedbush Securities. It also comes with an 8% or so dividend yield.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) was started as Outperform with a $135 price target at Robert W. Baird.
HSN Inc. (NASDAQ: HSNI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
Immunomedics Inc. (NASDAQ: IMMU) was assumed as Buy at Jefferies, and the prior price target of $5 is now $5.50 (versus a $3.28 close). Jefferies even assigned a 55% probability of accelerated approval based on Phase 2 data in 2018.
New Residential Investment Corp. (NYSE: NRZ) was started as Outperform with a $17 price target (versus a $13.52 close) at Wedbush Securities. It comes with a double-digit 13% dividend yield.
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $29 from $36 at Wunderlich.
Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VNDA) was assumed as Buy at Jefferies, and the old price target of $15 is now $23 (versus a $16.25 close). Despite strong performance since the end of August, the firm cited multiple drivers for stronger gains ahead.
Merrill Lynch has 4 US 1 List picks with very solid dividends.
Wednesday’s top analyst calls were in Broadcom, Flextronics, Genworth Financial, Micron Technology, Salesforce.com, UBS, Wal-Mart and over a dozen more.
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