The futures traded higher Friday morning, and while investors are still smarting from yesterday’s tariff-driven selling, all eyes are on the May nonfarm payroll report to see if the economy is still gaining traction. Thursday’s purchasing managers report and first-time claims for unemployment were both positive, and with the Italians forming a government, some of the selling pressure appears to be off.
Some investors are reconsidering what the nine-year bull market may bring for the rest of 2018 and beyond. It has become clear that the multiyear trend of buying pullbacks is now more vulnerable to sellers, volatility and each major news headline. Many investors are finding it harder to decide how they want their assets positioned for the longer term.
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. Others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.
Additional color and commentary have been added on some of these daily analyst calls. The consensus analyst price target data are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.
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These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Friday, June 1, 2018.
AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $66.62 to $125.86. The Wall Street consensus price target is $116.14. The shares closed Thursday at $98.94.
Dana Inc. (NYSE: DAN) was started with a Buy rating and a $28 price target at Merrill Lynch. That compares with the consensus target on Wall Street of $28.90. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $22.30.
Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray. The 52-week trading range is $20.90 to $45.90, and the consensus price objective is $42.25. The shares ended trading on Thursday at $43.70, so a potential valuation call.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) was resumed in coverage at Citigroup with a Buy rating and a $340 price target. The posted consensus target is $311, while the stock closed trading on Thursday at $290.98.
International Paper Inc. (NYSE: IP) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. The 52-week trading range is $50 to $66.94. The consensus price target is $64.38. The stock closed on Thursday at $53.50.
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Longbow. The 52-week trading range is $25.06 to $47.73, and the consensus price target is $44.58. The stock closed on Thursday at $37.44.
Owens Corning Inc. (NYSE: OC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $63.06 to $96.52. The consensus price target is set at $86.11. The shares ended trading on Thursday at $63.22.
Southwest Airlines Inc. (NYSE: LUV) was downgraded to In-line from Outperform at Imperial Capital. The firm also lowered its price target to $54 from $68. One potential reason for the downgrade is the increase in jet fuel prices. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $49.76 to $66.99. The consensus price target is set at $67.67, and shares closed trading on Thursday at $51.08.
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Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was started with a Hold rating at Needham. The analysts don’t foresee Tesla reaching full production until 12 months from now. If the company does manage to hit its production targets, the firm suspects it will be sacrificing margins and profitably as it believes the yields on the battery packs are still low and will take substantial time to ramp. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $244.58 to $389.61. The consensus price objective is $309.09, and the shares ended trading Thursday at $284.73.
Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following.
Cott Corp. (NYSE: COT) was resumed in coverage with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley. Its 52-week trading range is $13.52 to $17.77. The consensus price target is $18.25, and the stock closed Thursday at $15.78 a share.
CytomX Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTMX) was started with a Buy rating at SunTrust, which has a $38 price target. The Wall Street price objective is $40. The shares closed Thursday at $25.67, in a 52-week trading range of $13.00 to $35.00.
ExlService Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EXLS) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust. The 52-week trading range is $51.89 to $64.34, and the consensus price target is set at $64.08. The stock ended trading on Thursday at $56.69.
Golar LNG Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: GMLP) was downgraded to Underperform from Buy at Merrill Lynch. The 52-week trading range is $16.01 to $23.46. The consensus price target is posted at $23.39, and the shares closed Thursday at $16.77, down a whopping 17.6% on the day after posting very lackluster results.
Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ: KFRC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Northcoast. The 52-week trading range is $16.75 to $34.25, and the consensus price target is $31. The shares closed on Thursday at $33.65, so a possible valuation call here.
Navient Inc. (NASDAQ: NAVI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush. The 52-week trading range is $11.48 to $16.97. The consensus price target is $16.61. The stock closed trading most recently at $13.81.
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Rush Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: RUSHA) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Longbow. The 52-week trading range is $34.30 to $55.40, and the consensus price target is $54.43. The stock closed Thursday trading at $43.03.
T2 Biosystems Inc. (NASDAQ: TTOO) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Leerink. The 52-week trading range is $2.50 to $8.98. The consensus price target is $8.50, and the stock closed Thursday at $7.41.
Union Bankshares Corp. (NASDAQ: UBSH) was started with an Equal Weight rating and a $44 price target at Barclays. The consensus price target is $43.57. The stock closed Thursday at $41.10 a share.
In case you missed it, Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Biogen, Box, Corning, GrubHub, Hyatt, Quality Systems, Zillow and more.
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