The futures traded slightly higher Wednesday morning, and while trade remains an issue, the big story for investors is oil jumping over the $70 a barrel level for the first time since late May. The price shot up Tuesday, buoyed by uncertainty over Libyan crude exports and doubts over OPEC’s ability to boost production quickly enough to prevent a shortfall in global supplies. In addition, reports that the United States wants to cut Iran oil imports to zero also contributed to oil’s price gains.
Many investors are now reconsidering what the nine-year bull market may bring for the rest of 2018 and beyond. It has become very clear that the multiyear trend of buying every pullback 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.
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These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Wednesday, June 27, 2018.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was resumed in coverage at Morgan Stanley with an Overweight rating and a $37 price objective. That compares to the Wall Street consensus price target of $37.35. The shares closed Tuesday at $31.61. Expanded coverage calling a bottom in AT&T shows more details about this call.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) was started with a Buy rating at Bernstein, which has a $73 price target. The consensus price target for the pharmaceutical giant is set at $68.40. The stock ended trading on Tuesday at $60.81.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) was started with an Outperform rating and a $38 price target at Bernstein. That compares with the consensus target of $33.20. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $32.01.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) was started with an Outperform rating and a $170 price target at Wolfe Research. The consensus target is $172.12, and the stock closed Tuesday at $144.01.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $14.87 to $25.18. The consensus price target is $27.89, and the stock closed trading on Tuesday at $19.91.
NuVasive Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $44.62 to $81.68, and the consensus price target is $59.53. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $52.74.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) saw its price target raised to $27 from $25, and the company was added to the firm’s U.S. Focus List. The consensus price target for the generic pharmaceutical giant is $19.78. The stock closed Tuesday at $23.61.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) saw its price target raised at Telsey Advisory Group from $140 to $150. That compares with a consensus price target of $134.83. The shares closed trading on Tuesday at $133.62.
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Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) was started with a Buy rating and a $70 price target at Rosenblatt. The consensus price objective is $54.88, and the shares closed trading Tuesday at $57.30, up over 5% on the day.
Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZBH) was started with an Underperform rating and a $96 price target at Bernstein. The consensus target is much higher at $132.41, and the shares closed Tuesday at $112.58.
Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:
Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ARCH) was resumed in coverage with a Hold rating and an $83 price target at Stifel. That compares with a consensus price target of $100.75. The analysts’ expectations are for multiple recent tailwinds to coal pricing to fade and headwinds from domestic power demand to reemerge in the coming years. The stock closed Tuesday at $79.32.
Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSII) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch. The 52-week trading range for the company is $20.58 to $33.11. The consensus price target is $32.75, and the stock closed trading on Tuesday at $30.78.
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Fortive Corp. (NYSE: FTV) was started with an Outperform rating and a $90 price target at Wolfe Research. The consensus price objective is $83.86. The shares ended trading on Tuesday $75.22, down over 3% on the day.
H&E Equipment Services Inc. (NASDAQ: HEES) is raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS. The 52-week trading range is $19.23 to $44.84, and the consensus price target is set at $38.67. The stock closed Tuesday at $36.34.
Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT) was started with a Market Perform rating and an $88 price target at Bernstein. But the consensus price target for the medical devices giant is set at $94.79. The shares closed Tuesday at $86.87.
Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Vertical Group. The 52-week trading range is $70.66 to $89.83, and the consensus price target is posted at $96.11. The stock ended trading on Tuesday at $87.51.
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In case you missed it, Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AMC Networks, Kinder Morgan, Lam Research, MGM Resorts, Spotify and many more.
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