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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades After Election: IBM, Qualcomm, Valeant, Yum China, CSX, DeVry and More
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OK, so the market did not implode after the election. In fact, a more than 700 point drop in the Dow turned into a net 256 point gain. Thursday, stocks were indicated to open up 100 points on the Dow and up 12 points in the S&P 500. The trend of investors buying every major sell-off has continued.
Investors are looking for ways to keep making money, and they are looking for new ideas when valuations are high and interest rates are likely to rise 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 avoid.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday morning, following Wednesday’s 256 point Dow gain after the post-election rally:
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch, and the price target was raised to $185 from $170 (versus a $154.81 prior close). The stock closed down 0.23% at $154.81 on Wednesday but was indicated up 1.7% at $157.50 on Thursday. IBM had a consensus analyst target price of $156.38 and a 52-week trading range of $116.90 to $165.00.
Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $65 price target (versus a $67.88 close) at Morgan Stanley. It was down 0.57% on Wednesday and was indicated at $68.00 on Thursday. The consensus target price is $73.10, and the 52-week range is $42.24 to $71.62.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) was up 7.4% at $16.09 on Wednesday and shares were indicated up 1.5% at $16.34 on Thursday. The stock was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Rodman & Renshaw, and Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating but cut its price target to $25 from $42. The 52-week range is $13.77 to $119.87.
Yum China Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YUMC) was started as Outperform with a $33 price target at Oppenheimer. Shares closed down 2.2% at $26.00 on Wednesday. Yum China has had a post-IPO low of $24.00 and a post-spin high of $28.14.
Due to post-election market coverage, including so many sectors rising and falling after the results, we have included several key issues on this matter:
- Eleven major winners from the Trump victory
- Nine big stock losers from Clinton’s loss
Follow @Jonogg on Twitter to receive the daily analyst calls and research updates directly on your Twitter feed.
Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades on Thursday were seen in the following:
Arctic Cat Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAT) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform and the price target was cut to $9 from $11 (versus a $14.51 close) at BMO Capital Markets.
CPI Card Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PMTS) was downgraded to Sector Underperform from Sector Perform with a $3.50 price target (versus a $5.05 close) at CIBC.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $35 price target (versus a $33.88 close) at BMO Capital Markets.
CVR Refining L.P. (NYSE: CVRR) was raised to Neutral from Underperform and the price target was raised to $9 from $7.
DeVry Education Group Inc. (NYSE: DV) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $35 price target (versus a $38.49 close) at Deutsche Bank.
Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform with a $9 price target (versus a $6.40 close) at RBC Capital Markets.
OneMain Holdings Inc. (NYSE: OMF) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $19 price target (versus a $17.44 close) at Barclays. Shares closed up 3.2% at $17.44 on Wednesday, but this was at $27.50 earlier in the week before the earnings bomb.
SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities. FBR Capital Markets downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform.
WellCare Health Plans Inc. (NYSE: WCG) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight with a $115 price target (versus a $117.24 close) at JPMorgan.
Workiva Inc. (NYSE: WK) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was cut to $16 from $18 (versus a $16.50 close) at Credit Suisse. The firm worries that larger contracts and deals could take longer to close now.
More post-election market coverage seen making major moves is as follows:
- Why hospital stocks got slaughtered
- What a Trump victory means for the marijuana industry
- Why Smith & Wesson got crushed
- Eleven companies that will rebuild America’s infrastructure
- Four biotechs that just became de-risked
Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American Water Works, Delphi Automotive, GoPro, JPMorgan, Nucor, U.S. Steel and more.
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