Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AMAG, Baidu, Cisco, GE, Honeywell, 3M, Salesforce, SunPower, UTC and More

Investing

Published: February 15, 2018 9:00 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 3:21 am

This week has been a wild ride, but it has been a week full of recovery in stocks versus last week’s panic selling with broken market efficiencies. The bull market is now just three weeks shy of being nine years old, and the one trend that has served investors huge rewards for over five years now has been to buy the pullbacks. Investors still have to decide how they want to be positioned for 2018 and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some analyst reports and research reports cover stocks to buy. Others 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 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 Thursday, February 15, 2018.

AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAG) has received FDA approval now for a new subcutaneous version of Makena, and shares were indicated up almost 20% at $16.65 on the news. Janney raised its rating to Buy with a fair value range of $20 to $22, and the FDA approval slammed the door on the worst case scenario for its outlook, according to the firm.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $280 price target (versus a $225.60 close) at Morgan Stanley. Baidu has a 52-week trading range of $166.00 to $274.97 and a consensus analyst price target of $267.93.

BJ’s Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ: BJRI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $44 price target (versus a $37.60 close) at Wedbush Securities.

Box Inc. (NYSE: BOX) was started as Buy and assigned a $25 price target (versus a $21.20 close) at D.A. Davidson. It has a 52-week range of $15.73 to $24.10 and a consensus price target of $25.27.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, (NYSE: BMY) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week range is $51.56 to $66.10, and the consensus price target is $64.18.

CEMEX SAB de C.V. (NYSE: CX) was downgraded to Sell from Buy with a $6.50 price target (versus a $7.62 close) at UBS. Its 52-week range is $7.10 to $10.37, but the American depositary shares were indicated down 4.35 at $7.27 on Thursday morning.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) closed up 2.1% at $42.09 ahead of earnings and was last seen up 7.9% at $45.40 on Thursday morning after earnings. Oppenheimer maintained its Outperform rating and raised its target to $50 from $46. Cisco already has seen many upgrades and higher target prices in 2018.

Compass Minerals International Inc. (NYSE: CMP) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse. Shares closed down 2.17% at $67.75 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $59.72 to $79.45.

Credit Suisse A.G. (NYSE: CS) was raised to Buy from Hold at Societe Generale.

Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) was started as Equal Weight and assigned a $90 price target at Barclays.

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) was started as Overweight and assigned an $80 price target at Barclays. It has a 52-week range of $56.77 to $74.45 and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Foundation Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ: FMI) was started as Outperform with a $90 price target (versus a $65.60 close) at Cowen. The stock was indicated up 2% at $66.95 after the call, in a 52-week range of $22.40 to $75.20 and with a prior consensus target price of $58.50.

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Gardner Denver Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GDI) was started as Equal Weight and assigned a $35 price target at Barclays.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was started as Equal Weight and assigned a $16 price target at Barclays. GE has a 52-week range of $14.23 to $30.59, and it has a consensus price target of $18.71.

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) was started as Overweight with a $170 price target at Barclays. Honeywell closed up 1.3% at $150.38 and was indicated up almost 1% at $151.80 on Thursday, but it has a 52-week range of $122.40 to $165.13. The consensus target price is $173.50

KLA-Tencor Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $120 price target (versus a $107.47 close) at Citigroup. The 52-week range is $87.17 to $121.65, and the consensus price target is $122.21.

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) was started as Underweight at Barclays, and the price target of $235 is barely above its $232.00 closing price. 3M has a 52-week range of $181.62 to $259.77 and a consensus price target of $247.50.

Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (NYSE: OHI) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. The stock closed down 5% at $25.61 on Wednesday but was indicated up 1.7% at $26.06 on Thursday.

Portland General Electric Co. (NYSE: POR) was started as Buy and assigned a $43 target price at Mizuho.

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PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) was started with a Neutral rating and a $150 price target (versus a $150.66 close) at Instinet

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $132 price target (versus a $109.02 close) at Jefferies. Salesforce has a 52-week range of $80.25 to $114.52, and it has a consensus price target of $122.40.

ServiceMaster Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SERV) was raised to Buy from Reduce at Instinet. It closed up 1.3% at $52.12 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $36.34 to $54.48.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer. SunPower closed up 1.3% at $7.48 on Wednesday but was last seen trading down 9% at $6.80 on Thursday after earnings. The 52-week range is $5.84 to $11.70, and the consensus price target is $9.09.

Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) was maintained as Market Perform but the price target was raised to $64 from $58 (versus a $57.55 close) at Telsey Advisory.

United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) was started as Overweight with a $157 price target (versus a $126.70 close) at Barclays. UTC has a 52-week trading range of $107.05 to $139.24 and a consensus price target of $149.10.

Wednesday’s top analyst calls were in Avis Budget, Blue Apron, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Domino’s, Northrop Grumman, Pepsico, Rio Tinto, T-Mobile, Valero Energy and many more.

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