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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Citigroup, Oracle, PTC Therapeutics, Starbucks, Tableau Software, Williams-Sonoma and More

Lee Jackson

Published: June 20, 2018 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 10:08 pm

The futures traded higher Wednesday morning, and while concerns over the potential for a full-out trade war continue to trouble investors, buyers look ready to jump in. Despite the big losses in the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, once again the Russell 2000 small cap index printed another all-time high on Tuesday. Clearly, investors look to be rotating to small cap stocks, as many do the bulk of their business in the United States and may face less pressure from potential tariffs.

Many investors may be reconsidering what the nine-year-old bull market may bring for the rest of this year and beyond. It has become very 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. Other analyst calls 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.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Wednesday, June 20, 2018.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was raised to Buy from Hold a Deutsche Bank. The bank’s shares have traded in a 52-week range of $63.16 to $80.70. The consensus price target is $83.90. The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $66.78.

Mimecast Ltd. (NASDAQ: MIME) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $25.06 to $45.15, and the consensus price target across Wall Street is $46.54. The stock closed Tuesday at $43.05.

Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush. The 52-week trading range for the software giant is $44.04 to $53.08. The consensus price target is $55.73, and the stock ended trading Tuesday at $46.27.

PTC Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $14.56 to $52.95. The consensus price target is set at $24.20, and shares closed at $33.24 yesterday, down a stunning 30.6% as a competitor posted solid clinical results on a drug the company already has.

Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SBH) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $14.05 to $21.06. The posted consensus price target is $15.85. With the stock closing at $15.97, this was a possible valuation call.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley, and BTIG Research downgraded the coffee retailer to Neutral from Buy. The company reported disappointing results, and guidance. The 52-week trading range is $52.58 to $61.94, and the consensus price target is $63.88. The shares closed Tuesday at $57.43, but traded down over 2% in premarket action.

Tableau Software Inc. (NASDAQ: DATA) was started with a Neutral rating and a $101 price target at Susquehanna. That compares to the consensus target of $95.90. The shares closed above both levels Tuesday at $104.29.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $42.68 to $63.60. The consensus price target is $55.10, and shares closed most recently at $63.29, so this was possibly a valuation call on the retailer.

Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:

Appian Corp. (NASDAQ: APPN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $16.932 to $43.61. The consensus price objective is set at $27.50, and shares closed Tuesday at $41.88, down almost 5% on the day, but the stock has been on a roll over the past month.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch. The 52-week trading range for the utility is $71.96 to $91.80. The consensus price target is $82.20, and the stock closed Tuesday at $75.67.

Fitbit Inc. (NYSE: FIT) was resumed in coverage at William Blair with a Market Perform rating. The 52-week trading range is $4.51 to $7.79, and the consensus price target is $6.06. The shares closed Tuesday at $7.19.

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Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets. The 52-week trading range is $2.44 to $19.20, and the consensus target is an odd $5.21. The stock closed Tuesday way above that level at $16.06.

Michaels Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: MIK) was added to the Focus List at JPMorgan. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $17.25 to $27.87, and the consensus price target is posted at $23.31. The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $18.22.

RBC Bearings Inc. (NASDAQ: ROLL) was started with a Hold rating and a $133 price target at SunTrust. The consensus target is set at $143.67. The shares closed most recently at $127.94 apiece.

Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) was started with a Hold rating and a $300 price target at Berenberg. The consensus price target is $257.43, and shares closed trading on Tuesday at $280.82.

Voya Financial Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) was resumed in coverage with a Neutral rating at Goldman Sachs. The stock has traded between $45.61 and $55.27 over the past year. The consensus price objective is set at $59.86.

In case you missed it, Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Diamondback Energy, Dr Pepper, Fortinet, KB Home, Netflix, Sirius XM and more.