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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apache, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, eBay, GrubHub, Hess, Nike, Nucor, Wayfair and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: September 14, 2017 8:55 am

Last Updated: March 20, 2020 11:17 am

Stocks were indicated to open slightly lower on Thursday, but the major stock indexes just recently hit all-time highs again. The Dow was over 22,100 and the S&P 500 close to 2,500. Another issue that cannot be ignored is that investors keep finding new reasons to buy stocks after every sell-off. Many investors are also looking for new investing and trading ideas to generate gains and income.

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 the top analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while some calls cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional color and commentary has 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, September 14, 2017.

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral with a $38 price target (versus a $42.34 prior close) at JPMorgan. Apache has a 52-week trading range of $38.14 to $69.00 and a consensus analyst target price of $48.10.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $182 from $180 at Maxim Group. RBC Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform rating with a $180 price target. Apple has a 52-week range of $104.08 to $164.94 and a consensus target price of $172.29.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) was started with an Overweight rating and a $315,000 price target (versus a $268,450 close) at JPMorgan. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) also was given the same Overweight rating and a $210 price target (versus a $178.93 close). Though this is Warren Buffett’s shop, it is rare for an analyst report to be issued here.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $45 price target at D.A. Davidson. Shares closed up 0.25% at $38.27 and were indicated up 0.6% at $38.50 on Thursday. eBay has a 52-week range of $27.28 to $38.50 and a consensus target price of $37.71.

GrubHub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB) was started as Neutral with a $48 price target at D.A. Davidson. It closed at $56.18 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $32.43 to $57.61 and with a consensus analyst target of $53.35.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. Hess was recently featured as a cheap oil stock by Leon Cooperman, and its shares closed up 1.7% to $42.13 on Wednesday. Its 52-week range is $37.25 to $65.56, and it has a consensus price target of $51.26.

Nike Corp. (NYSE: NKE) was maintained as Neutral with a $52 price target (versus a $53.40 close) at Wedbush Securities. The firm noted that Nike’s return to normalized growth and when this inflection will take place do not seem that apparent. The 52-week range is $49.01 to $60.53. The consensus price target is $61.24.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $65 price target (versus a $53.60 close) at Citigroup. It has a 52-week range of $44.94 to $68.00 and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) was started with a Neutral rating and assigned a $78 price target (versus an $80.97 close) at D.A. Davidson. The 52-week range is $27.60 to $83.36 and the consensus target price is $83.82.

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Other key analyst calls were seen in the following:

AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $91 from $94 at Morgan Stanley.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $21 from $14.50 at JPMorgan. Wedbush maintained its Neutral rating and $15 price target after noting that close to 20% of its community count was in storm-impacted areas.

Burlington Stores Inc. (NYSE: BURL) was started with a Buy rating and a $108 price target at Deutsche Bank.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: CFG) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $43 from $38 at Bernstein.

Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RARE) was started as Neutral with a $131 price target at Goldman Sachs.

Floor & Decor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: FND) was started with a Market Perform with a $41 price target (versus a $39.98 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $29 price target (versus a $19.90 close) at Craig-Hallum.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight with a $14 price target (versus a $23.93 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Imperial Oil Ltd. (NYSEMKT: IMO) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $22 from $21 at Bernstein.

McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: RARE) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $62 price target (versus a $49.79 close) at Wedbush, with the firm noting that its valuation looks attractive post-ASBMR.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $130 from $109 (versus a $110.43 close) at Barclays.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amazon, Applied Materials, Avon, CarMax, Micron Technology, Square, Whiting Petroleum and many more.