As is usually the case this time of year, the market volume was very low yesterday as the truncated last trading week of 2016 is upon us. Once again, all eyes on Wall Street are focused on the Dow Jones Industrial Average run to the 20,000 level, which is now just 55 points away. The futures are mostly mixed this morning, and pointing to a slightly higher open across the board.
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 Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations. Since this is the week between holidays, many of the firms we cover will not resume full coverage until after the new year, so the published volume is again reasonably light.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is reiterated with a Buy rating at Cantor Fitzgerald and is a top pick at Evercore for 2017. The Wall Street consensus price target for the technology giant is a massive $929. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $474 to $847.21. The stock closed trading yesterday at $771.40.
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AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE: ABC) is reiterated with a Buy rating at Argus, and the firm revised its price target to $120. That compares with a consensus price target of $85.33. The 52-week range for the shares is $63.38 to $105.81. Shares closed trading on Tuesday at $78.82.
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James. The analysts also raised their price target to $75 from $50. The consensus target is $51.17, and the 52-week range is $32.20 to $49.54. The shares closed yesterday at $47.73.
Dover Corp. (NYSE: DOV) is a top idea for 2017 at Baird. The firm reiterates its Outperform rating and $85 price target. That compares with a $76.16 consensus price objective. The analysts note that with oil and gas improving in 2017, the company remains one of the best ways to play the potential upside in their coverage universe. The 52-week range is $50.91 to $71.87. Shares closed yesterday at $76.32.
Franklin Covey Co. (NYSE: FC) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Barrington Research. The 52-week range is $13.45 to $22.45. With the shares closing yesterday at $20.85, this is pretty much a valuation call by the firm.
Impax Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: IPXL) was started with a Neutral rating at Janney, with a price target of $15. That’s versus a consensus price target of $18.79. The 52-week range is $12.28 to $44.86. The stock closed yesterday at $13.25.
Nike Corp. (NYSE: NKE) was reiterated with an Outperform rating at Credit Suisse, but the analysts lowered their price target to $60. The earnings estimates are lowered to account for currency and the unlikelihood that earnings will reaccelerate faster than anticipated. The consensus price target is $62. The 52-week range is $49.01 to $65.44. The stock closed Tuesday at $51.29.
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) has been absolutely on fire. The analysts at Argus see continued momentum for the shares in 2017 and they raise their price target to $130 from $95. That’s versus a consensus price objective of $92.65. The 52-week range is $24.75 to $117.36. Shares closed just below that 52-week high yesterday at $117.32.
Ocera Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: OCRX) was initiated with a Buy rating at H.C. Wainwright, with a price target of $10. That compares with a consensus price target of $8.75. The analysts cite Ocera’s lead drug, OCR-002, which they feel has the potential to become the gold standard for both the treatment and prevention of overt hepatic encephalopathy. They view the Phase 2b data readout of the STOP-HE study, expected in the first quarter of 2017, as a likely substantial stock catalyst. The 52-week range for the stock is $1.76 to $3.90, and the shares closed trading yesterday at $2.20.
In case you missed it, Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Biogen, FedEx, Lions Gate, Rexnord, Ionis Pharmaceutical and more.
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