Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: ASML, GE, HubSpot, Infosys, Teva, United Continental and Many More

Investing

Published: September 18, 2017 8:55 am

Last Updated: March 20, 2020 11:17 am

Stocks were indicated to open higher on Monday after last week seeing new all-time highs for the major equity indexes. No earth-shattering news over the weekend kept investors positive. Those same investors have seen that every single market sell-off in the past five years has been bought aggressively, and they are also looking for new ideas to generate income and gains.

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 Monday, September 18, 2017.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) was raised to Positive from Neutral with a $190 price target (versus a $162.41 prior close) at Susquehanna. It has a 52-week trading range of $98.71 to $163.13 and a consensus analyst target price of $135.24.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was maintained as Buy but the price target was cut to $27 from $30 at Argus. GE closed at $23.93 a share on Friday, in a 52-week range of $23.58 to $32.38. Argus has noted that GE maintains a clear focus on returning capital to shareholders via buybacks and a rich 4% dividend yield. The firm feels that ownership is also changing from growth to value and that its new management team will need to focus on improving cash flow generation to generate investor enthusiasm and a higher earnings multiple.

HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $90 price target (versus a $73.05 close) at Evercore ISI. The consensus target price is $81.11, and the 52-week range is $44.90 to $78.50.

Infosys Ltd. (NYSE: INFY) was raised to Neutral from Sell with a $12.80 equivalent price target (versus a $14.65 close) at Goldman Sachs. The American depositary shares were indicated up about 1% at $14.79 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $13.42 to $16.71.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) was maintained as Underperform but the price target was cut to $15 from $21 (versus an $18.10 close) at RBC Capital Markets. Teva has a 52-week range of $15.22 to $51.61.

United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research. Shares closed at $59.80, in 52-week range is $49.28 to $83.04. The consensus target price is $81.38. United Continental shares were indicated down 0.5% at $59.50 on Monday.

ALSO READ: 10 Reasons Berkshire Hathaway Is a Screaming Buy

Other key analyst calls were seen in of the following:

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) was maintained as Buy but the price target was cut to $130 from $150 at Argus.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) was started as Neutral at Citigroup.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was reiterated as Outperform at Wedbush Securities and is the firm’s top IT services pick. It noted a combination of strong deal pipeline, recent wins and market share gains, and a more aggressive expansion in digital via organic efforts and acquisitions.

Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) was started as Buy and assigned a $28 price target at Citigroup.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) was started as Buy with a $90 price target at Citigroup.

Quintiles IMS Holdings Inc. (NYSE: Q) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $104 from $98 (versus a $94.47 close) at Argus.

Teladoc Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird. Shares closed down 2.8% at $35.95 on Friday, and the 52-week range is $14.00 to $37.55.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AbbVie, Bristol-Myers, Eli Lilly, First Solar, Generac, Oracle, Sirius XM, Southwest, Wendy’s and many more.

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