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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AT&T, CenturyLink, MercadoLibre, Netflix, Starbucks, Tiffany, TJX, YRC Worldwide and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: August 22, 2018 9:10 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 7:01 pm

Stocks were indicated to open lower on Wednesday, the day that marks the official longest bull market of recent decades. Earnings season is almost complete, and more than 70% of the companies exceeded expectations. Despite the gains, 2018 has been choppy and investors have been less rewarded for buying every dip than they had been in recent years. Many investors also are trying to decide how they want their investments positioned ahead of the midterm elections and given the international trade concerns.

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 for our readers. Some of the daily analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and some reports 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 are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wednesday, August 22, 2018.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo, and the price target was cut to $35 from $40. Shares closed up 0.9% at $33.40 on Tuesday and were indicated down 0.6% at $33.19 on Wednesday. AT&T has a 52-week trading range of $30.13 to $39.80 and had a consensus target price of $35.91.

Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSII) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $45 price target (versus a $38.03 prior close) at Stifel.

CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $19 price target (versus a $23.98 close) at MoffattNathanson. The stock was up 0.5% at $23.98 on Tuesday and was indicated down 1.7% at $23.57 on Wednesday. Its consensus target price was $21.28, and it has a 52-week range of $13.16 to $24.20.

Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $72 price target (versus a $64.40 close) at Argus.

Finisar Inc. (NASDAQ: FNSR) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) was reiterated as Buy with a target price of $202 (versus a $177.58 close) at Argus.

Landstar Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: LSTR) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $133 price target (versus a $115.65 close) at Wells Fargo.

MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $380 price target (versus a $328.45 close) at Stifel. The stock was indicated up 1.6% at $333.80 on Wednesday morning.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $49 from $47 at Morgan Stanley. Myriad Genetics shares were indicated up around $43.50 for the open on Wednesday, but the shares continued to strengthen on the heels of a stronger than expected earnings report.  BofA Merrill Lynch maintained an Underperform rating but raised its price objective to $34 from $31. Barclays also maintained its Equal Weight rating while raising its target to $38 from $35.

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Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $395 from $390 (versus a $338.02 close) at MKM Partners. The team is calling for 90 million U.S. subscribers and 300 million international subscribers by 2025.

Nightstar Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ: NITE) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $34 price target (versus a $19.79 close) at Janney. The firm called Nightstar a leader in gene therapy for inherited retinal disorders.

Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $198 target (versus $220.87 close) at Goldman Sachs. It has a 52-week range of $180.48 to $234.90 and a consensus target price of $206.50.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight with a $53 price target at Piper Jaffray. Starbucks closed up 0.1% at $54.00, and the shares were indicated down 0.6% at $53.70 on Wednesday. The 52-week range is $47.37 to $61.94, and the consensus target price was $57.96.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $140 price target (versus a $131.91 close) at Merrill Lynch.

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) was reiterated as Market Perform but the price target was raised to $112 from $83 at Wells Fargo. Credit Suisse maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target to $106 from $100. The stock was up 4.7% at $106.46 on Tuesday and was looking for direction on Wednesday.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $70 from $59 (versus a $63.43 close) at Wedbush. The firm still views same-store sales growth expectations through 2019 as conservative.

Wright Medical Group N.V. (NASDAQ: WMGI) was started as Buy and assigned a $34 price target (versus a $27.49 close) at Stifel. The 52-week range is $19.01 to $29.89.

YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. After rising 0.9% to $9.18 on Tuesday, its shares were indicated up 4.6% at $9.60 on Wednesday. The 52-week range is $8.07 to $17.61.

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE: ZTS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $95 price target (versus a $91.28 close) at Stifel.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls include Aerojet Rocketdyne, Apple, ADP, Honeywell, 3M, NeoGenomics, Paychex, Symantec, Tesla and many more.