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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Albermarle, Blue Apron, Box, Dish Network, GM, Transocean, Under Armour and More

courtesy of Jon Ogg

Stocks were looking for direction on Monday morning after hitting all-time highs last week. The primary trend that has dominated this eight-year bull market is that investors keep finding new reasons to buy stocks after every market sell-off. 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. 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 Monday, September 25, 2017.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $135 price target at Robert W. Baird, with a valuation call coming after a huge run. Its shares closed at $134.29 on Friday and were indicated down 1.1% at $132.75 on Monday. Albermarle had a 52-week trading range of $76.32 to $136.95 and a consensus analyst target price of $126.12.

Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (NYSE: APRN) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $9 price target (versus a $51.9 prior close) at Guggenheim. Blue Apron shares were indicated up 3% at $5.35 on Monday, in a post-IPO range of $5.00 to $11.00 and with a consensus target price of $6.50.

Box Inc. (NYSE: BOX) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. Shares closed up 4% at $18.17 on Friday and were indicated to open up 2.2% at $18.57 on Monday. Box has a 52-week range of $13.56 to $20.91 and a consensus target price of $24.20.

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) was reiterated as Buy with an $80 price target (versus a $53.26 close) at Jefferies, with the firm noting that the shares are oversold and are currently at a buying opportunity. Dish Network has a 52-week range of $52.14 to $66.50 and a consensus target price of $73.22.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $51 price target at Deutsche Bank. GM shares closed up 0.8% at $39.42 on Friday and were indicated up 1.6% at $40.07 on Monday. The 52-week range is $30.21 to $39.54, and the consensus target price was $38.87.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS. Shares closed up 2.6% at $9.32 on Friday and were indicated up another 4.8% at $9.77 on Monday. Transocean has a 52-week range of $7.20 to $16.66 and a consensus analyst target of $10.83.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $20 price target (versus a $16.41 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. It has a 52-week range of $15.92 to $40.02, and the consensus target price is $19.68.

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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $92 price target (versus an $87.48 close) at UBS.

American Outdoor Brands Corp. (NASDAQ: AOBC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $19.50 price target (versus a $15.01 close) at Wedbush Securities.

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) was reiterated as Buy with a $90 fair value estimate (versus an $82.03 close) at Janney. This was on the heels of investor meetings for its long-term opportunities.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $77 from $76 (versus a $48.83 close) at Stifel.

AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB) was raised to Outperform from In-Line at Evercore ISI.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) was started as Overweight with a $58 price target at Morgan Stanley.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Compass Minerals International Inc. (NYSE: CMP) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. The shares closed down 13% at $60.10 on Friday and were indicated to open up almost 2% higher at $61.25 on Monday.

Corporate Office Properties Trust (NYSE: OFC) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $39 price target (versus a $32.53 close) at Jefferies.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Eiger Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: EIGR) was reiterated as Outperform with a $34 target price (versus a $10.55 close) at Oppenheimer, ahead of a September 28 interactive event at Stanford.

Ensco PLC (NYSE: ESV) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Essex Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: ESS) was raised to In-Line from Underperform at Evercore ISI.

HCP Inc. (NYSE: HCP) was raised to In-Line from Underperform at Evercore ISI.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was started with a Neutral rating and a $140 price target (versus a $131.39 close) at Citigroup.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. (NYSE: VAC) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $130 from $120 (versus a $119.72 close) at Stifel.

Noble Corp. PLC (NYSE: NE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: OAS) was maintained as Hold but the price target was cut to $10 from $10.50 (versus an $8.62 close) at Stifel.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OLLI) was started as Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Phillips 66 Partners L.P. (NYSE: PSXP) was maintained as Buy but the price target was cut to $60 from $61 (versus a $51.40 close) at Stifel.

Prologis Inc. (NYSE: PLD) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Staar Surgical Co. (NASDAQ: STAA) was raised to Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $112 at Oppenheimer.

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