Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: BHP Billiton, HP, Kinder Morgan, Marathon Petroleum, Nike, Pfizer, Rite Aid, Tesla and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: July 20, 2017 9:24 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 9:57 am

Stocks were indicated marginally higher on Thursday after the European Central Bank statement remained quite dovish. The major equity indexes all remain just under all-time highs. Even though this bull market may now be well over 8 years old, investors have found different reasons at each selloff to line up and buy stocks aggressively. Those same investors are also searching for new investing ideas and trading ideas.

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

Additional color and commentary has also been added on most of the daily analyst calls. Consensus analyst price target data are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Thursday, July 20, 2017.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, with the firm noting concerns over oil prices. BHP’s ADSs have a 52-week range of $28.02 to $41.79 and has a consensus analyst price target of $36.97.

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $22 from $21 at RBC Capital Markets. HP shares closed up 1.7% at $18.70 on Wednesday and were indicated up 1% at $18.90 on Thursday. HP’s 52-week range is $13.55 to $19.58 and its consensus analyst target price is $20.74.

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) was up after telegraphing higher dividends and a $2 billion stock buyback ahead. Jefferies maintained its Hold rating and $20 target. Kinder Morgan has a 52-week range of $18.31 to $23.36 and has a consensus analyst price target of $24.68.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) was maintained as Buy with a $65 target (versus $54.83 close) at Jefferies, but the firm did remove it from the Franchise Pick list. Marathon Petroleum has a 52-week range of $36.58 to $55.71 and has a consensus analyst price target of $62.94.

Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. Nike closed up 0.2% at $57.77 on Wednesday and was indicated up 2.3% at $59.09 on Thursday. Nike has a 52-week range of $49.01 to $60.33 and has a consensus analyst price target of $62.11.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was cut to $36 from $38 at Credit Suisse. Pfizer closed up 0.78% at $33,62 on Wednesday but was indicated down 0.8% at $33.35 on Thursday. This downgrades said that the firm still sees opportunities for upside over the long-term, but they see more limited drivers of upside over the next 6 months to 12 months. Pfizer has a 52-week range of $29.83 to $37.39 and has a consensus analyst price target of $37.50.

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho. Rite Aid closed up 1.9% at $2.63 on Wednesday and was indicated down 0.6% at $2.61 on Thursday, a signal that Rite Aid has already fallen apart so much that this downgrade looks like it is being mostly ignored. Rite Aid has a 52-week range of $2.21 to $8.77 and the consensus analyst target price was $2.88.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was started with a Neutral rating and the price target was assigned as $357 at Citigroup. Despite a Neutral rating, this is still about 10% higher than the $325.26 close from Wednesday. Tesla shares were indicated up 0.5% at $326.99 on Thursday, versus a 52-week range of $178.19 to $386.99 and a consensus analyst target price of $299.35.

You can follow @Jonogg on Twitter if you want the daily analyst calls and other market research calls directly on your feed.

Other analyst calls from this Thursday were seen as follows:

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Wedbush Securities, noting that it was also still cautious on Starbucks and Chipotle into earnings.

Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the target price was cut to $21 from $30 (versus $17.15 close) at JPMorgan.

Cision Ltd. (NYSE: CISN) was started with an Outperform rating and was given a $14 price target (versus $10.95 close) at Credit Suisse. The firm noted that this is a unique asset with a vast market opportunity.

Enova International, Inc. (NYSE: ENVA) was reiterated as Buy and the fair value estimate was raised to $18 from $16 (versus $16.45 close) at Janney.

EP Energy Corp. (NYSE: EPE) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and the price target was slashed to $4.50 from $7 (versus $3.71 close) at RBC Capital Markets. EP Energy has a 52-week range of $3.29 to $7.49.

Energen Corp. (NYSE: EGN) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was lowered to $53 from $60 (versus $51.39 close) at JPMorgan.

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT) was started as In-Line with a $16.50 target price (versus a $17.55 close) at Imperial Capital.

Gulfport Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: GPOR) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was cut to $17 from $22 (versus $13.75 close) at JPMorgan.

Guaranty Bancorp (NASDAQ: GBNK) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) was reiterated as Outperform with a $35 target price at Wedbush Securities. After a $20.65 close, the firm noted that a tough summer box office lineup of movies has offered new investors an attractive entry point.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was reinstated as Outperform with a $148 target price at Credit Suisse. The firm still sees pharma growth drivers poised to deliver further upside for J&J investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was lifted to $130 from $111 at JPMorgan.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $45 from $43 at Argus.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) was reiterated as Buy and that target price was raised to $215 at Argus, noting strong earnings results.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $57 price target at Argus.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades were in Cameco, Carvana, Chipotle, Magellan Midstream, Netflix, Puma Bio, SeaWorld and many more companies.