Stocks were indicated to open higher yet again on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated up over 26,400 and the S&P 500 challenging 2,850. Now that the bull market is nine years old and the Dow has screamed higher in the first month of 2018, investors are looking to position their portfolios for this year and beyond. The trend that keeps winning is for investors to buy on pullbacks, even as interest rates are rising.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. The goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports and research reports cover stocks to buy. Other reports cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional color and commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports. The consensus analyst price targets mentioned and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Friday, January 26, 2018.

Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE: AGI) was raised to Outperform with an $8.00 price target (versus a $6.16 prior close, down 3.9%) at Credit Suisse. It has a 52-week trading range of $5.84 to $9.00 and a consensus analyst target price of $9.04.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral with an $18 price target (versus a $23.03 close, down 1.9%) at JPMorgan. Shares were indicated down over 4.5% at $22.00 in early Friday indications. Bed Bath & Beyond had a consensus target price of $23.00 and a 52-week range of $19.07 to $41.96.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was up 0.6% at $169.37 on Thursday after this week’s earnings report, and Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $210 from $192.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) was reiterated as Outperform with an $83 price target (versus a $71.54 close) at Credit Suisse. The firm feels the stock is undervalued based on tax reform and strategic initiatives. CarMax has a 52-week range of $55.37 to $76.81.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) was up almost 2% at $80.30 on Thursday after many analysts raised their ratings or targets. Now Argus has reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price to $90 from a $74 prior price target. Discover Financial has a 52-week range of $57.50 and a consensus target price of $89.08.

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $36 price objective (versus a $32.09 close) at Merrill Lynch. The firm is reducing the discount versus utility peers on 2020 earnings with resolution on its FES liability within $1 billion earmark from agencies. FirstEnergy has a 52-week trading range of $27.93 to $35.22 and a consensus target price of $35.62.

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. The stock closed at $45.41 (up 0.35%) on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $32.05 to $46.43 and with a consensus price target of $45.75.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $95 price target (versus an $81.19 close) at Jefferies. It has a 52-week range of $70.05 to $82.47 and a consensus target price of $86.54.

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) was reiterated as Outperform with a $168 price objective at Merrill Lynch. The firm talked up Honeywell beating earnings estimates, but also noted slightly lower organic growth. The 52-week range is $117.12 to $161.89. The consensus target price is $169.24.

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Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) was down 0.45% at $45.30 ahead of earnings on Thursday, but server strength and guidance (as well as little to no financial impact from Spectre/Meltdown) had the shares up 5.6% at $47.84 ahead of Friday’s opening bell. Mizuho reiterated its Buy rating on Intel and raised its price target to $52 from $47. Credit Suisse threw in the towel and upgraded Intel to Outperform from Neutral and raised its price target to $55 from $42.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $115 price target (versus a $94.54 close) at Wedbush Securities. The firm sees store sales stabilizing in the second quarter and visibility into free cash flow as being likely by year-end.

Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM) was down 2.2% at $55.12 on Friday. Drexel Hamilton reiterated its Buy rating on Maxim and raised its target price to $63 from $60. The consensus price target is $54.36, and the 52-week range is $43.08 to $58.04.

Microsemi Corp. (NASDAQ: MSCC) was down 2.7% at $61.73 on Thursday. It was reiterated as Buy at Mizuho and the price target was raised to $70 from $62. Shares were indicated up less than 0.5% on Friday, and the consensus target price is $64.45.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was down 0.46% at $60.55 on Thursday ahead of earnings, and shares were indicated down 4.6% at $57.75 on Friday morning on the heels of its report. Wedbush maintained its Outperform rating with a $70 price target, noting that the 2% same-store sales growth will be offset by a tax contribution that was better than expected. Credit Suisse maintained its Neutral rating on Starbucks.

Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at Atlantic Equities. The stock closed up 0.6% at $148.47 on Friday, and the frequently forgotten Dow component has a 52-week trading range of $113.76 to $148.88. Travelers had a consensus target price of $141.65.

Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets. It has a 52-week range of $158.80 to $202.99.

Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $4.25 price target (versus a $3.56 close, after a 3.2% drop) at Credit Suisse. The 52-week range is $2.21 to $3.80, and the consensus target price is $3.74.

Credit Suisse has raised its gold outlook for 2018, noting U.S. dollar weakness driving the price to an average of $1,375 per ounce this year.

Other key analyst calls with less detail were seen as follows:

Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AERI) was started as Buy with a $78 price target at Seaport Global.

BioDelivery Sciences International Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI) was started as Buy with a $16 price target at Seaport Global.

Exponent Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPO) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Stifel.

Teladoc Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) was started as Buy with a $40 price target at Jefferies.

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Seaport Global.

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYNE) was started as Buy with a $16 price target at Seaport Global.

Thursday’s top analyst calls included Abbott Labs, Amazon.com, CME, Foot Locker, General Electric, Home Depot, Lam Research and many more.

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