Stocks were indicated to open slightly lower this Friday, as a seesaw week comes to an end and new rhetoric from North Korea has hit the tape. The one trend that has dominated this bull market is that investors keep finding new reasons to buy stocks after every sell-off. Those same investors are 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. Other calls cover stocks to sell or to avoid.
Additional color and commentary has been added on some of these daily analyst calls. The 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 Friday, September 22, 2017.
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg. Its 52-week trading range is $20.00 to $47.95. The Wall Street consensus price target is $46.92. The stock closed Thursday at $46.25.
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American Airlines Group Inc. (NYSE: AAL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays. The 52-week range for the transportation giant is $34.88 to $54.46. The consensus price target is $57.06, and shares closed the day on Thursday at $46.29.
AstraZeneca Inc. (NYSE: AZN) was raised to Buy from Market Perform at Bernstein. It has a 52-week range of $25.55 to $35.60 and a consensus price objective of $34.89. The stock closed Thursday at $32.81.
Becton Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX) was started with an Outperform rating at Wells Fargo. The firm’s $225 price target compares with the consensus price objective of $218.45. The 52-week trading range for the medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products giant is $161.29 to $206.63. Shares ended trading on Thursday at $191.56.
Cubic Corp. (NYSE: CUB) was raised to strong Buy at Raymond James. Its 52-week range is $39.50 to $55.65, and the consensus price target is $51.60. Shares closed on Thursday at $46.80.
Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. The stock has been hammered after disclosing numerous data breaches from hackers. The 52-week range is $8959 to $147.02. The posted consensus price target is $124.85. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $98.25.
Mindbody Inc. (NASDAQ: MB) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets. It has a 52-week range of $16.95 to $29.75, and the consensus price target is $30.81. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $24.85.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week range for the luxury jeweler is $70.55 to $97.29. The consensus price target is set at $94.84. Shares closed Thursday at $89.85 and were trading lower in the premarket after the call.
Tyler Technology Inc. (NYSE: TYL) was started with a Buy rating at Citigroup, and the firm has a $200 price target. That compares with the consensus price objective of $187.30. The 52-week range is $139.61 to $182.49. The stock closed Thursday at $170.61.
U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Cowen, which lowered its price target to $20 from $24. That compares with the consensus target of $28.18. The analysts noted the move is based on their view that iron ore and U.S. HRC prices are poised to move lower. U.S. Steel is heavily exposed to HRC spot market movements, in addition to being vertically integrated, and unable to benefit from a move lower in iron ore prices. The 52-week range is $16.17 to $41.83. Shares closed Thursday down over 4% at $24.66 and were lower in Friday’s premarket trading.
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Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AJRD) was raised to Buy from Neutral at CL King. The consensus price objective for the shares is a strange $24.15, given that the stock closed trading on Thursday at $32.30. The 52-week trading range is $16.04 to $32.56.
Bob Evans Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: BOBE) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair. The company was recently purchased by Post Holdings for $1.5 billion. The 52-week range is $36.98 to $78.18, and the shares closed Thursday at $77.29.
HCP Inc. (NYSE: HCP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch. Its 52-week range is $26.71 to $36.16. The consensus price target is $31.17, and the stock closed Thursday at $28.57.
Leggett & Platt Inc. (NYSE: LEG) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust. The 52-week range is $43.17 to $54.97, and the consensus price objective is set at $53.86. The stock closed Thursday at $45.94
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE: PEG) was raised to Overweight at Barclays. Shares have traded between $39.38 and $47.47 in the past year. The consensus price target was last seen at $48.35. With the shares closing Thursday at $46.22, this is a bullish call.
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Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. The 52-week range is $11.30 to $14.39, and the consensus price target is $15.25. The stock closed Thursday at $13.34.
Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch. Its 52-week range is $56.20 to $73.23. The consensus price objective is set at $65.53. Shares closed Thursday’s trading at $67.52.
In case you missed it, here are Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades. They included AMD, Biogen, Capital One, Intuit, Jinko Solar, Micron Technology and many more.
Also, 24/7 Wall St. has identified 15 stocks and entities with dividend and distribution yields of 10% and higher where analysts continue to see upside ahead.
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