Stocks were indicated higher on Monday morning as yet another week of massive earnings reports is set. The investing community has had less success buying the dips in 2018 than in prior years. Many investors also are reconsidering how they want their investments positioned ahead of the midterm elections and during international trade concerns.
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 analyst reports cover stocks to buy and some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.
Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. 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 Monday, July 30, 2018.
Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.
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Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) was raised to Buy with a $35 price target at Merrill Lynch.
American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie.
Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) was reiterated as Neutral but the price target was raised to $200 from $188 at Citigroup.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $37 price objective (versus a $31.45 prior close) at Merrill Lynch. AT&T was indicated up 1.1% at $31.43 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $30.13 to $39.80.
Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
BP PLC (NYSE: BP) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised almost 4% in overseas prices at HSBC. The analysts cited the BHP Billiton shale acquisition and called BP undervalued compared with a stronger growth and free-cash-flow profile against peers.
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG) was raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) was reiterated as Sell but the price target was raised to $3.50 from $2.50 at Citigroup. Chesapeake shares closed up just 0.2% at $4.41 on Friday.
Chubb Inc. (NYSE: CB) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $157 from $151 at Citigroup.
Columbia Sportswear Inc. (NASDAQ: COLM) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $106 from $94 at Citigroup.
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Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $131 from $119 at Citigroup. BMO Capital Markets maintained its Market Perform rating while raising its target to $124 from $120.
Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $165 from $140 at Citigroup.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) was maintained as Neutral and the price target was cut to $24 from $29 (after a 9.5% gain to $23.15 on Friday) at Citigroup.
Habit Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ: HABT) was raised to Outperform and the price target was raised to $15 from $10 (versus an $11.30 close) at Wedbush Securities.
Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $32 from $25 at Deutsche Bank.
Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was maintained as Buy but the price target was cut to $216 from $239 at Citigroup.
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) was maintained as Neutral but the price target was raised to $43 from $30 at Credit Suisse. The shares closed up 10.3%at $46.91 on Friday.
Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. (NYSE: NSM) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was maintained as Overweight and the price target was raised to $75 from $70 at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
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Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) was maintained as Outperform but the price target was cut to $37 from $51 at BMO Capital Markets. Barclays downgraded it to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $32 from $53. This was a $33.50 stock last week before closing the Walmart credit card deal, but shares closed out the week at $29.92. Synchrony has a 52-week range of $28.33 to $40.59.
Synchronoss Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCR) was downgraded to Sell from Hold and the price target was slashed to $3 from $8 (versus a $5.40 close) at Stifel.
Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) was maintained as Buy and the price target was raised to $149 from $144 (versus a $130.73 close) at Citigroup.
Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) may have sold off hard after earnings, but Goldman Sachs maintained its Buy rating and lowered its target to $48 from $55 based on incremental investments and tech spending for growth with a favorable risk-reward. Citigroup maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target to $39 from $32. Canaccord Genuity maintained a Hold rating but raised its target to $32 from $28. Shares of Twitter closed down 20.5% at $34.12 on Friday on almost five times normal trading volume.
Virtus Investment Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTS) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $175 from $174 (versus a $129.40 close) at Credit Suisse.
Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZBH) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $150 from $140 (versus a $126.20 close, after a 7.7% gain) at Cantor Fitzgerald. JMP Securities reiterated its Market Outperform rating and raised its target to $140 from $133. Canaccord Genuity maintained its Hold rating while raising its target to $125 from $122.
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