Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Cardinal Health, Monster Beverage, PayPal, Viacom, Verizon, Wal-Mart and More

Lee Jackson

Published: November 20, 2017 9:23 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 6:10 am

Futures are trading modestly higher this morning as we prepare to open up the holiday-shortened trading week. While today could be somewhat active, you can bet that many Wall Street traders are looking towards the door in anticipation of the Thanksgiving break and a long weekend. The one trend that has dominated this bull market is that investors keep finding new reasons to buy stocks after every single sell-off. Those same investors are looking for new investing ideas 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 ideas and trading ideas for our readers. Some of the top analyst reports cover stocks to buy. Other analyst calls cover stocks to sell or stocks to avoid.

Additional color and commentary has also 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, November 20, 2017:

Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE: CAH) was downgraded to Underweight from Equalweight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range for the company is $55.69 to $84.88. The Wall Street consensus price target for the company is $70.80. The shares closed Friday at $57.51.

Berry Global Group Inc. (NYSE: BERY) saw its price target raised at RBC Capital Markets to $69 from $65. The analysts feel that Berry is potentially miscategorized in the poorly performing materials segment, which includes commodities, but they would argue that the stock should trade more in line with consumer staples. The 52-week trading range is $45.55 to $61.19. The Wall Street consensus price target is set at $67.46. The shares closed Friday at $59.61.

Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) saw its target price lowered to $55 at RBC Capital Markets. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $45 to $64.23, and the consensus price target for the consumer staples giant is $49.79. The shares closed Friday at $49.72.

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) was downgraded to Negative from Neutral at Susquehanna. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $41.02 to $62.80, and the consensus price target is posted at $61.76. The stock closed Friday at $62.17.

National Vision Holdings Inc. (NYSE: EYE) was started with a Buy rating at Citigroup and Jefferies, and Wells Fargo also started coverage on the recent initial public offering with an Outperform rating. Since going public on October 26, the shares have traded between a range of $27.19 to $30.98. The consensus price target for the company is still being established. The stock closed Friday at $29.98.

PayPal Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) saw its price target raised to $88 from $80 at a firm called Monness Crespi & Hardt. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $38.06 to $78.01. The consensus price objective is posted at $79.29. The stock closed trading on Friday at $76.38.

Sterling Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: STL) was started with a rating of Market Perform at JMP Securities. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $21 to $25.85. The Wall Street consensus price objective is a bizarre $14.75. The stock closed Friday at $23.90.

Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank. The 52-week trading range for the entertainment giant is $22.13 to $46.72. The Wall Street consensus price objective is set at $31.63. The stock closed Friday at $26.15.

Verizon Inc. (NYSE: VZ) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. The 52-week trading range for the telecommunication giant is $42.80 to $54.23. The consensus price target for the company is set at $50.45. Verizon ended the day Friday at $45.42.

WalMart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Goldman Sachs. After an outstanding run this year, the analysts cite valuation at current levels as the reason for the downgrade. Shares of Wal-Mart are up 41 percent year to date through Friday versus the S&P 500’s 15 percent return. The 52-week trading range is $65.28 to $100.13, and the consensus price target is $98.45. The stock closed Friday at $97.47.

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

Aethlon Medical Inc. NASDAQ: AEMD) was started with a Buy rating at H.C. Wainwright.The 52-week trading range is $0.79 to $5.17. The consensus price target is posted at a stunning $26. That is surprising given the shares closed Friday at $0.97.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at CL Kinc. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $5.93 to $10.86. The stock closed Friday at $10.71.

Genco Shipping and Trading Limited (NYSE: GNK) was started with an Outperform rating at Evercore ISI. The 52-week trading range is $6.37 to $14.99, and the consensus price target on Wall Street is posted at $16.23. The stock closed trading on Friday at $10.66.

Jack In The Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush. The 52-week trading range for the fast food company is $90.89 to $113.30. The consensus price target for the stock is posted at $111.27. The shares closed Friday at $105.53.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: LYV) was downgraded to In-line from Outperform at Evercore ISI. The 52-week trading range for the company is $26.41 to $46.33. The consensus price target on Wall Street is $46.50. The stock closed Friday at $45.34.

National Beverage Inc. (NASDAQ: FIZZ) was raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna. The 52-week trading range is $45.40 to $129.82. The consensus price target for the company is set at a surprising $78. The stock closed trading on Friday at $102.23.

Summit Hotel Properties Inc. (NYSE: INN) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Janney. The 52-week trading range is $13.94 to $19.23. The consensus price target is set at $17. The stock closed trading on Friday at $15.32.

Prothena Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTA) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $45.13 to $70. The consensus price target is set at $78.07. The shares closed trading on Friday at $51.93, down over 5%.

In case you missed it, here are last Friday’s Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades. They included Buffalo Wild Wings, Gap, Hain Celestial, PayPal, Salesforce.com, Splunk and more.