Investing

Top Analysts Upgrades and Downgrades: Biogen, FedEx, Lions Gate, Rexnord, Ionis Pharmaceutical and More

Lee Jackson

Published: December 27, 2016 10:05 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 4:24 pm

With just one trading week left for 2016, and a shortened one at that due to the market holiday yesterday, investors will be making some final changes, perhaps doing some tax-loss selling, and generally getting their portfolios ready for 2017. The futures were trading flat this morning, but stocks have opened slightly higher. The focus will remain on the Dow Jones Industrial Average march to 20,000

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

These are this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations. Since this is the week between holidays, many of the firms we cover will not resume full research coverage until after the new year, so the published volume is reasonably light.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was reiterated at Outperform at Leerink, which raised its price target on the shares to $368 from $355. That compares with a Wall Street consensus price target of $339.07. The stock was also reiterated with a Buy rating at Merrill Lynch with a $374 price target. The firm now forecasts that Spinraza, which was approved by the FDA for spinal muscular atrophy, will reach peak sales of over $2 billion based on wider label FDA approval. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $223.02 to $333.65. The stock closed last Friday at $287.53 but traded higher on Tuesday.

FedEx Inc. (NYSE: FDX) was reiterated with a rating of Hold at Stifel, but the firm raised its price target to $189 from $186. The Wall Street consensus price objective is $208.95. The 52-week trading range is $119.71 to $201.57. The stock closed last Friday at $191.86.

Ionis Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS) was reiterated at Market Perform at Leerink, but the price target was raised to $47 from $40. Janney increased its price target to $53 from $50. Ionis partners with Biogen on Spriraza. The consensus price target on its shares is $44.90. The 52-week range is $19.59 to $62.68. The ended last week at $53.41 but was up big in early trading.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) was started with a Buy rating and a $34 price target at Argus. The consensus price objective is $27.94, and the 52-week range is $16.21 to $35.65. The stock closed trading last Friday at $26.09.

Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers Inc. (NYSE: RBA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. The 52-week range is $21.02 to $39.96, and the consensus price objective is $39.25. Shares closed last Friday at $36.03.

Rexnord Corp. (NYSE: RXN) was reiterated at Outperform and called a solid idea for 2017 at Baird. The firm has a $23 price target, which compares with a consensus target of $21.25. The 52-week range is $14.04 to $22.97. The stock closed last Friday at $19.53.

Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: RRTS) was reiterated with a Buy rating at Stifel, which raise its price target to $12 from $11. The consensus price target is $10.50. The stock ended the day last Friday at $10.49, in a 52-week range of $6.39 to $13.67.

In case you missed it, last Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included FedEx, GameStop, Navistar, Time Warner, UPS and more.