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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AT&T, Comcast, Disney, Hess, Netflix, Petrobras, Sirius XM, Texas Instruments, Verizon and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: July 11, 2018 9:05 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 9:12 pm

Stocks were indicated handily lower on Wednesday, both in the United States and abroad, based on new trade war fears after President Trump signaled a higher $200 billion targeted for tariffs against China. This is after two days of strong gains this week. The prior “buy every dip and sell-off” effort from investors has been less reliable during most of 2018. Many investors have been concerned about how they want their investments positioned ahead of the midterm elections and also for the longer-term into 2019 and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new investing and trading ideas. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy and some 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 Wednesday, July 11, 2018.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $23 price target (versus a $17.35 prior close) at Imperial Capital.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was started as Underperform and assigned a mere $29 price target (versus a $32.50 close) at Credit Suisse, with AT&T being called out as a convergence conglomerate after its recent acquisitions.

Altice USA Inc. (NYSE: ATUS) was started as Outperform with a $21 target price at Credit Suisse.

Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $46 price target (versus a $36.73 close) at Imperial Capital.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was started as Neutral with a $36 price target at Credit Suisse.

Conn’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $45 price target (versus a $35.90 close) at Stifel.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight with a $66 price target (versus a $69.60 close) at Barclays.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) was added to the Best Ideas List at Wedbush Securities. The formal call is a reiterated Outperform rating with a $115 price target (versus an $86.17 close). The firm sees same-store sales growth expectations as realistic, with remodels assisting and margins benefiting at the same time wages are rising.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: JAZZ) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $183 price target (versus a $180.57 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $138 price target (versus a $118.64 close) at Cowen.

Myers Industries Inc. (NYSE: MYE) was started as Neutral with a $21 price target at Robert W. Baird, and JPMorgan started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $22 price target.

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Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $55 price target (versus a $38.03 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was started as Outperform and assigned a whopping $500 price target at Credit Suisse. The firm noted that its content ramp up is adding to the company’s base.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, was given a double-upgrade to Overweight from Underweight with a $14 price target (versus a $10.67 close) at Barclays. The 52-week range is $8.17 to $17.20.

Proofpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: PFPT) was reiterated as Outperform with a $136 price target (versus a $118.46 close) at Wedbush. The call is ahead of earnings, with the firm noting that it expects a clean quarter with continued momentum.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was started as Outperform with an $8.50 price target at Credit Suisse. The firm feels the growth and run here is far from done.

Steven Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $55 price target (versus a $54.15 close) at Wedbush, based in part on valuation and upside to expectations being priced in.

Tableau Software Inc. (NYSE: DATA) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $125 price target (versus a $103.89 close) at KeyBanc Capital markets.

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Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $134 price target (versus a $113.73 close) at Longbow Research.

TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $70 target price (versus a $57.59 close) at Barclays. The 52-week range is $29.50 to $60.12, and shares were indicated up over 2.7% at $59.20 on Wednesday.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) was started as Outperform and assigned a $58 price target at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting that its wireless focus is starting to pay dividends for the company.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was started as Neutral with a $114 price target at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting how the company is investing in the future.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included American Tower, AutoNation, Biogen, CarMax, Chipotle Mexican Grill, eBay, PG&E, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Zions Bancorp and many more.