Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AK Steel, Alphabet, Amazon, Boeing, ConocoPhilllips, Nokia, Twitter and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: October 28, 2016 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 1:48 am

Stocks were indicated marginally higher on Friday when the headline GDP report of 2.9% growth beat the 2.5% expectation. The earnings floodgates remain wide open, and investors keep proving that they will buy each pullback. High valuations and a bull market that is seven and a half years old just are not stopping investors. These same investors are also looking for new ideas to generate gains or income ahead.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning of the week to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some of these analyst research reports cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

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

AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $6.25 from $5.50 (versus a $5.15 prior close) at Jefferies. The firm sees a reflation momentum with a lower balance sheet risk, and it believes that the prospects for the U.S. steel market have notably improved. AK Steel has a 52-week trading range of $1.64 to $7.09 and a consensus analyst price target of $5.94.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was last seen down 1.5% at $829.50 after earnings beat expectations. Wedbush Securities maintained its Underperform rating and $700 target. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target to $1,120 from $1,070. Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating and $1,000 price target. The 52-week range is $672.66 to $838.50, and the consensus price target is about $946.00.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was last seen down 4.3% at $782.85 after earnings were dragged down on content spending. Wedbush maintained its Outperform rating and $900 target. Credit Suisse kept its Outperform rating but cut the target to $1,000 from $1,050. Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating and $950 price target. Amazon has a 52-week range of $474.00 to $847.21, and it had a consensus price target of about $920.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $160 (versus a $143.31 close) at Argus, noting that Boeing continues to benefit from strengthening demand in the commercial aerospace sector. Boeing has a 52-week range of $102.10 to $150.59 and a consensus price target of $148.76.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $53 price target (versus a $44.00 close) at Piper Jaffray. The 52-week range is $31.05 to $57.24, and the consensus price target is $51.91.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BNP Paribas. Nokia just joined the 52-week low club on Thursday, after falling 8.3% to $4.73 in its New York trading session. It has a 52-week range of $4.71 to $7.63 and has a consensus price target of $6.85. Nokia was indicated down 3.6% more at $4.56 on Friday.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) managed to close up 0.6% at $17.40 on Thursday after earnings and shares were indicated up 0.6% at $17.50 on Friday. Twitter was raised to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer. Goldman Sachs maintained its Buy rating but lowered its target to $22 from $23. Twitter has a 52-week range of $13.73 to $30.15 and a consensus price target of $16.43.

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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen as follows:

Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was slashed to $5 from $10 at H.C. Wainwright.

Amec Foster Wheeler PLC (NYSE: AMFW) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse, but its shares fell 20.7% to $5.63 on Thursday.

Antero Resources Corp. (NYSE: AR) was raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) closed up 1.3% at $175.16 ahead of earnings and was up 2.7% at $179.78 afterward despite a revenue drop and warning that China ad curbs will drag earnings. It was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was cut to $173 from $184 at Credit Suisse.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen.

GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNC) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral by Merrill Lynch. This is just a day after GNC hit the 52-week low club.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) was maintained as Outperform but the price target was cut to $128 from $132 at Credit Suisse.

McKesson Co. (NYSE: MCK) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Leerink.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus, noting that its revenue outlook weakened.

West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. (NYSE: WST) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. This is a day after Janney’s post-earnings review reiterated its Buy rating and $90 fair value estimate.

Credit Suisse has issued its preliminary earnings season report card. The firm broke out by large, small and mid capitalization, noting that 41%, 30% and 20% had reported earnings respectively. Credit Suisse showed that 79% of S&P 500 large caps, 71% of mid-caps and 68% of small caps have beat consensus earnings estimates. On revenues, 60% of S&P 500 large caps, 50% of mid-caps and 54% of small caps have beat consensus revenue estimates. For S&P 500 large caps, earnings beats are still up from last quarter (near 2014 highs), and the sales beats for S&P 500 companies have come in a bit over the past week but are still well above last quarter’s beat rate.

Thursday’s top analyst calls were in Groupon, Merck, News Corp., Walt Disney, Vonage, Western Digital and close to a dozen others.