Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Cisco, Freeport-McMoRan, Microsoft, NetApp, SunPower, Urban Outfitters and Many More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: November 17, 2016 9:10 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 5:42 pm

Thursday morning was a one that was quite simply directionless, after a mild 50-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average from Wednesday. Maybe things got overbought after a seven-day continuous rally without a single down day. Some of the key election beneficiary stocks had run 20% or more in the past week. That is not normal at all and might mean some overbought selling is due. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was set to deliver testimony on the Economic Outlook before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress on Thursday morning as well.

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 other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid.

Investors keep looking for new ideas for gains or income. They have proven endlessly that they will buy the sell-offs and market dips. Rising bond yields, a Fed wanting to hike rates, high valuations and a huge political upset just do not seem to be in the way. Another point to consider is that this bull market is now closer to eight years old than seven.

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

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was last seen trading down 5% at $29.97 after earnings. Oppenheimer maintained its Outperform rating and its $34 target, but it warned that tough macro issues and product weakness add to its challenges. Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating and $35 target based on strong billing metrics. Cisco has a 52-week trading range of $22.46 to $31.95.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $12.50 price target (versus a $13.80 prior close) at Deutsche Bank. Note that the stock was trading under $11 just two weeks ago, and its 52-week range is $3.52 to $14.26.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $68 price target (versus a $59.65 close) at Goldman Sachs. It has a 52-week range of $48.04 to $61.37 and a consensus analyst price target of $63.79.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $52 price target (versus a $34.73 close) at Drexel Hamilton. Shares were indicated up 10% at $34.75 on Thursday after beating earnings estimates. NetApp has a 52-week range of $20.66 to $36.10, as well as a consensus price target of $32.31, prior to this move.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $7 price target (versus a $7.16 close) at Robert W. Baird. The firm does not see SunPower’s prospects recovering any time soon, even with the shares down 80% from a peak due to a supply glut and industry deterioration. They see its premium modules having a harder time selling, and shares were indicated down 6% at $6.72 on Thursday.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. The consensus analyst target is $37.36, and the 52-week range is $20.06 to $40.80.

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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:

Atwood Oceanics Inc. (NYSE: ATW) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: CFG) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform (a valuation call) at Wedbush Securities.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. (NYSE: CFR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral (in a valuation call) at Wedbush Securities.

Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE: EXP) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens.

Ellie Mae Inc. (NYSE: ELLI) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform with a $90 price target (versus an $86.50 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at JMP Securities.

iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $65 price target (versus a $53.42 close) at Dougherty.

KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $20 price objective (versus a $15.81 close) at Merrill Lynch.

Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LW) was started as Buy with a $41 price target (versus a $31.70 close) at Jefferies. The firm noted that the leader in the world’s potato market is a hot potato you won’t want to pass on.

Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE: MLM) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens.

North American Energy Partners Inc. (NYSE: NOA) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. (NYSE: PB) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Wedbush Securities, noting that valuation is high and it has slow organic growth.

Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $44 price target (versus a $34.39 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity.

Teck Resourced Ltd. (NYSE: TCK) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

Vulcan Materials Co. (NYSE: VMC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Bank of America, Fitbit, Teva Pharmaceutical, Walt Disney, Regions Financial, Noble, Sysco and over a dozen more.