Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: ADP, Broadcom, Vale, VMware, Walgreens, Zebra Tech and Many More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: May 31, 2017 9:13 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 11:31 am

Stocks were indicated to open higher on Wednesday after a light sell-off on Tuesday. The S&P is still indicated above 2,400 and the Dow above 21,000. Now that this bull market is more eight years old, investors have the dilemma of wanting to look for new ideas while they also have shown for years that they will buy every big sell-off.

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

Consensus analyst price targets are from the mean of the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service. Some additional color and commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst calls.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Wednesday, May 31, 2017.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) was reiterated as Buy with a target price of $118 (versus a $101.53 prior closing price) at Argus. After strong earnings at the start of May 3, the shares fell due to disappointing guidance, and Argus sees the weakness as a buying opportunity.

Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was reiterated as a Top Pick at RBC Capital Markets, but the firm raised its price target to $260 from $250. Shares closed down 0.6% at $239.82 on Tuesday and were indicated up 1.5% at $243.50 after the call was made. Broadcom’s 52-week trading range is $142.27 to $241.60, and its consensus analyst target price is $252.26.

Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) was raised to Buy from Hold at HSBC. The call was overseas but the American depositary shares closed on Tuesday at $8.76, and Vale shares were indicated down 1% at $8.67 on Wednesday. Vale has a 52-week range of $3.85 to $11.70 and a consensus price target of $10.40. Moody’s also keyed in on Vale, noting that its ratings are unaffected despite Moody’s changing its outlook on Brazil to Negative from Stable.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $115 price target (versus a $96.74 close) at Robert W. Baird. RBC Capital Markets has an Outperform rating but raised its target price to $110 from $97. The stock was indicated up 2.3% at $98.99 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $55.12 to $97.78 and with a prior consensus target price of $95.93.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NYSE: WBA) was reiterated as Buy with a $95 target price (versus an $80.16 close) at Jefferies. The firm wanted to review a deal or no deal strategy for Rite Aid, and the firm sees upside with or without Rite Aid ahead. If the deal is blocked, they would expect Walgreens to put through a sizable stock repurchase.

Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $100 price target at Morgan Stanley. After closing up 0.8% at $106.73 on Tuesday, Zebra Tech has a 52-week range of $46.13 to $107.27 and a consensus target price of $104.63.

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Other key analyst calls were seen in the following:

Antero Midstream GP L.P. (NYSE: AMGP) was given many upside targets as its quiet period ended. A couple straggler calls were also made here. Janney started coverage as Buy with a $27 target, while Citigroup started coverage with a Neutral rating and with a $27 price target.

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ASH) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was adjusted to $76 (versus a $66.49 close) at Argus to reflect the post-Valvoline separation. Argus views Ashland’s Valvoline separation as a positive for its shareholders as it will allow management to focus on higher-growth, higher-margin businesses, provide funds for dividend hikes, share buybacks or acquisitions.

Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (NASDAQ: BECN) was started as Neutral and with a $47 target price at Wedbush. Despite positive sales commentary, the firm is below consensus on its earnings estimates ahead.

Codexis Inc. (NYSE: CDXS) was started with a Buy rating and was given a new $8 target price (versus a $4.30 close) at Jefferies. The firm was shown to have a growing recurring revenue base and a robust pipeline of nearly 20 R&D projects that could boost its portfolio of recurring product revenues by more than two times in the coming years.

Donaldson Co. Inc. (NYSE: DCI) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $54 from $49 (versus a $46.83 close) at Jefferies. The firm sees increasing evidence that Donaldson’s end-markets are exiting the multiyear trough, and it feels that its operating leverage should translate into above-average compound growth over the next few years.

Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOGO) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $15 target price (versus a $12.65 close) at Raymond James. Gogo has a 52-week range of $7.80 to $13.69.

iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity. This stock closed up 2.8% at $99.82 on Tuesday but was indicated down almost 2% at $98.00 on Wednesday.

Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KOP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $40 from $48 (versus a $37.45 close) at Jefferies. While the firm sees a realigned Koppers providing a relatively inexpensive way to leverage railroad maintenance capex and home remodeling trends in the United States, with railroad spending depressed and remodeling at risk, the firm expects Koppers to be range-bound until two or three quarters before synchronized end-market growth returns in 2019 to 2021.

Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: MOH) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $60 target price (versus a $66.30 close) at Stifel. Molina has a 52-week range of $42.56 to $68.67 and a consensus target price of $60.23.

Potbelly Corp. (NASDAQ: PBPB) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $13 price target (versus a $10.85 close) at Maxim Group. Potbelly has a 52-week range of $10.50 to $14.55 and a consensus analyst target of $12.60.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Ambarella, BlackBerry, Schlumberger, Valero Energy, Whiting Petroleum, Zynga and over a dozen more.