Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Celgene, Chevron, Exxon, Frontier Communications, JPMorgan, Lam Research, P&G, Square, Workday and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: February 28, 2018 8:55 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:57 am

The stock market may have sold off on Tuesday after Jerome Powell gave his first testimony as Federal Reserve chair to Congress, but much of the move was just a giveback of the prior day’s gains. Stocks were indicated marginally higher on Wednesday morning after fourth-quarter gross domestic product was revised to 2.5% from 2.6%. The bull market is now about a week away from being nine years old. The one trend that keeps proving to be right for investors has been to buy the dips after every sell-off. 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.

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The following are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Wednesday, February 28, 2018.

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $53 price target (versus a $38.60 prior close) at TD Securities.

Allete Inc. (NYSE: ALE) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $71.50 price target (versus a $68.25 close) at Mizuho.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $47 price target (versus a $41.64 close) at Buckingham Research.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) was last seen down 6% at $90.00 after an FDA application was deemed to be insufficient. Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating but lowered its target price to $129 from $130. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey downgraded Celgene to Hold from Buy with a new $106 target price. Stifel maintained its Buy rating but trimmed its target to $128 from $130.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch, but the $138 price target (versus a $113.61 close) is unchanged. This is ahead of its analysts day.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) was up 4% at $2.79 on Tuesday and was up another 11% at $3.10 on Wednesday morning. The 52-week trading range is $0.65 to $3.45.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was reiterated as Buy with a $102 price target at Merrill Lynch, noting that similar shale growth and an overlooked outlook make it more attractive with more upside than Chevron.

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Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with an $8 price target (versus a $9.24 close). Unfortunately, after earnings Frontier shares were last seen down 23% at $7.05 on Wednesday morning.

Intec Pharma Ltd. (NASDAQ: NTEC) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $13 price target (versus a $5.90 close) at Ladenburg Thalmann.

Intersect ENT Inc. (NASDAQ: XENT) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $47 at Merrill Lynch. The call says that Sinuva’s targeted launch is set for April 2018 and that this opportunity is materially underappreciated.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was reiterated as Buy and the price objective was raised to $126 at Merrill Lynch, with the call coming after its Investor Day guidance and targets.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was reiterated as Outperform at Credit Suisse ahead of its analysts day meeting. Credit Suisse sees Lam laying out long-term growth drivers, with long-term 2021 earnings of $20 to $25 per share, with buyback authorization of about $6 billion to $7.5 billion over the next three years.

Mercadolibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) was down 4.3%at $375.44 on Tuesday after an earnings miss. JPMorgan took the other side, raising Mercadolibre to Overweight from Neutral with a $500 price target. The shares have a 52-week range of $203.36 to $397.88, and they were indicated up 3% at $387.00 on Wednesday.

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $201 from $183 at Argus. Many other price targets were raised on Tuesday after strong earnings, and Argus thinks that Palo Alto appears to have moved past recent sales execution issues as it ramps up its product refresh cycle and continues to add new services.

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) was down 2.4% at $104.08 on Tuesday, but Citigroup has raised its rating to Buy from Neutral with a $125 price target. Philip Morris has a 52-week range of $96.66 to $123.55.

Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. (NASDAQ: PLYA) was reiterated as Buy at Janney, noting that there are many reasons to like the Sagicor transaction.

Primoris Services Corp. (NASDAQ: PRIM) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $30 price target (versus a $24.58 close) at D.A. Davidson.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was started with a Sell rating and assigned a $78.50 price target (versus an $80.54 close) at Berenberg.

RSP Permian Inc. (RSPP) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $53 from $51 at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting that RSP Permian’s 2018 to 2020 outlook was ahead of expectations.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was down 1.37% at $45.91 ahead of earnings and was indicated down 1.6% at $45.20 afterward. Wedbush Securities reiterated its Neutral rating and $37 target price, noting the stock is priced for perfection.

Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) was down about 2% on Wednesday evening at $125.75 after slightly better than expected earnings and targeting 27% to 28% subscription revenue growth for 2018. BMO Capital Markets has a Market Perform rating and raised its target price to $135 from $117. Wedbush maintained a Neutral rating and $119 price target but sees high valuations making it vulnerable to a market correction.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Albermarle, Best Buy, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Exact Sciences, Fitbit, Itron, NuVasive, Palo Alto Networks, Stryker and many more.