The futures are down this morning as the markets continue to swirl in anticipation of a tax reform package. While the House and the Senate are continuing to work on the details, the market is in standby mode until completion. 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 investment 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 analyst 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 Thursday, December 7, 2017.
Akebia Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AKBA) was started with a Buy rating at BTIG Research, and they put a $30 price target on the shares. That compares with the Wall Street consensus target of $20.86. The 52-week trading range is $7.78 to $20.25. The stock closed Wednesday at $15.40.
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Allergan PLC (NYSE: AGN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus. The 52-week trading range for the specialty pharmaceutical giant is $160.07 to $256.80. The consensus price target is $229.90. The stock closed the day Wednesday at $168.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) saw its price target raised at Cowen to $1,500 from $1,225, and the company maintains its Outperform rating on the shares. The 52-week trading range for the tech colossus is $747.70 to $1213.41. The consensus price target is $1252.04. The stocks closed Wednesday at $1152.35.
BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA) was started with an Outperform rating at Oppenheimer, with a price target of $63. That compares with a consensus target of $54.05. The 52-week trading range is $37.54 to $55.86. The stock closed Wednesday at $53.05.
C&J Energy Inc. (NYSE: CJ) was started with a rating of Outperform at Evercore ISI. The analyst has a $42 price objective, and that compares with the consensus target of $39.55. The 52-week trading range is $24.30 to $42.60. The stock closed Wednesday at $30.68.
Lam Research Inc. (NASDAQ: LRCX) is raised to Buy from Neutral at Nomura. The 52-week trading range for the semiconductor capital equipment leader is $103.01 to $219.70. The Wall Street consensus price target is posted at $229.06. The stock closed Wednesday at $184.23.
Mellanox Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: MLNX) saw its price target raised to $70 from $53 at Stifel. The analysts looked at potential earnings upside from operational improvements that activist investor, Starboard Value, may recommend. Compared with peers, Mellanox’s spending as a percentage of sales is higher. The 52-week trading range is $39.70 to $62, and the consensus price target is set at $57.30. The shares ended the day on Wednesday at $59.35.
Shake Shack Inc. (NASDAQ: SHAK) is raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range is $30.12 to $43.04. The consensus price objective is set at $39.40. Shares topped that level on Wednesday, closing at $41.78.
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Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:
2U Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU) was started with an Outperform rating at Macquarie with a $71 price target. The consensus price target is posted at $72.10. The 52-week trading range is $29.23 to $69.27. The stock closed trading Wednesday at $58.40.
Brown-Forman Inc. (NYSE: BF-B) is raised to Hold from Sell at Societe Generale. The 52-week trading range is $43.72 to $67.98. The consensus price target is $56.86. The stock closed way above that level Wednesday at $65.85, up over 4% on the day.
Cancer Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: CGIX) was started with a Buy rating at Maxim Group with a $6 price target. That compares with a consensus target of $7.67. The 52-week trading range is $1.30 to $5.30. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $2.15.
Commercial Metals Inc. (NYSE: CMC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch. The 52-week trading range is $17.05 to $24.64. The consensus price target for the stock is $21.06. The shares closed Wednesday at $20.02.
Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: GALT) saw its target price raised to $10 from $6 at H.C. Wainwright. The 52-week range is $0.87 to $3.68. The consensus price target is $6.33. The shares closed Wednesday at $1.54.
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Instructure Inc. (NYSE: INST) was started with an Outperform rating at Macquarie with a $41 price objective. The consensus target is in line at $41.50. The 52-week trading range is $18.80 to $36.60. The stock closed Wednesday at $32.65.
John Wiley & Sons Inc. (NYSE: JW-A) saw its price target raised to $58 from $56 at Stifel. That compares to the consensus target of $61.33. The 52-week trading range $49 to $61. The stock closed Wednesday at $60.55.
Navigators Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NAVG) is raised to Buy from Hold at Sandler O’Neill. The 52-week range is $45.80 to $62.03. The consensus price objective is $53.33. Shareholders will be pleased with the boost as the stock was hit hard Wednesday and closed down over 8% at $46.35.
RPC Inc. (NYSE: RES) was downgraded to In-line from Outperform at Evercore ISI. The 52-week range is $16.63 to $26.45. The consensus price target is $4.97. With the shares closing Wednesday at $23.91, this could be a valuation call.
SYNNEX Corp. (NYSE: SNX) was started with a Buy rating at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, with a $145 price objective. That compare with the consensus price target of $143.14. The 52-week trading range is $101.48 to $137.80. The stock closed Wednesday at $130.68.
In case you missed it, here are Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades. They included Aetna, AIG, Applied Materials, AutoZone, Delphi, First Solar, Toll Brothers and more.
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