Stocks were looking for direction on Wednesday after the second-quarter gross domestic product estimate was raised to 4.2% from the first look of 4.1%. The markets have been hitting all-time highs, and it has been more than just a strong earnings season. Still, most investors have seen lower rewards for buying the dips in 2018 than in prior years. Investors also are trying to decide how they want their investments positioned for the rest of 2018.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. The 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 on Wednesday, August 29, 2018.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) was maintained as Neutral but the price target was raised to $20 from $13.50 at MKM Partners. The stock closed down 0.8% at $25.05 on Tuesday, and it was indicated down 1.5% at 24.66 on Wednesday. AMD has a 52-week trading range of $9.04 to $27.30 and a consensus price target of $18.41.
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Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $1,515 from $1,325 at Morgan Stanley. Alphabet closed down 0.8% at $1,245.86 and was indicated up 0.7% at $1254 on Wednesday, and it has a 52-week range of $924.51 to $1,291.44 and a consensus price target of $1,379.40.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $2,500 from $1,850 at Morgan Stanley. Amazon closed up 0.2% at $1,932.82 on Tuesday and was indicated up 1% at $1,950 on Wednesday. Its all-time high was $1,941.78, and the consensus analyst target was $2,111.69 ahead of this target hike.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) was started as Overweight and the target price was set at $77 (versus a $64.87 prior close) at Barclays.
Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) was raised to Neutral from Sell but the price target was raised to $11 versus a prior price target of $12 (versus a $10.62 close) at Citigroup. The consensus target price was $14.37 ahead of this call.
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was down 5% to $77.57 on Tuesday despite what looked like good earnings as investors took profits. Analysts have been making changes after the report. JPMorgan maintained it as Neutral and raised the price target to $79 from $76, while Deutsche Bank maintained its Hold rating and raised its target to $76 from $75. Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal Weight rating and raised its price target to $78 from $74.
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: DCPH) was started as Outperform and the target price was set at $47 (versus a $38.31 close) at Raymond James.
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Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) was started as Overweight and the price target was set at $49 (versus a $42.51 close) at Barclays.
Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $118 from $113 (versus a $106.84 close) at Wells Fargo.
Dova Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: DOVA) was started as Outperform and the target price was set at $44 (versus a $24.57 close) at Raymond James. The 52-week range is $20.65 to $37.00, and the consensus price target is $42.00.
Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE) was raised to Buy from Hold at HSBC. Shares closed up 1.4% at $130.04 on Tuesday and were indicated up another 1.3% at $131.72 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $103.65 to $149.85. The consensus target price was $139.50.
Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) was reiterated as Buy at Citigroup, but the firm lowered its price target to $14 from $16. The stock was down 1.6% at $11.13 on Tuesday and indicated down another 0.8% at $11.05 on Wednesday. Its 52-week range is $10.38 to $15.55, and the consensus target price was still all the way up at $17.40.
Hain Celestial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN) was maintained as Market Perform and the price target was cut to $29 from $31 (versus a $26.77 close, after a 6.4% drop) at BMO Capital Markets. It has a 52-week range of $25.41 to $44.37 and a consensus price target of $32.18.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) was up 1.7% at $16.74 on Tuesday and up another 2.3% at $17.13 on Wednesday after its earnings report. BMO Capital Markets maintained it as Market Perform and cut its target to $18 from $19. Deutsche Bank reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price to $23 from $22. The 52-week range is $12.81 to $19.48, and the consensus target price ahead of the report was $19.33.
Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) was maintained as Neutral and the price target was cut to $3.25 from $4.00 (versus a $2.97 close) at Citigroup. It has a 52-week range of $2.78 to $4.91 and a consensus price target of $4.72.
Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) was started as Overweight and the price target was set at $25 (versus a $20.70 close) at Barclays. It has a 52-week range of $10.64 to $22.74 and has a consensus price target of $23.95.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) was maintained as Neutral and the price target was cut to $36 from $42 (versus a $31.84 close) at Citigroup. It has a 52-week range of $31.45 to $42.04 and a consensus analyst target of $44.16.
Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) was started as Underweight and assigned a $33 price target (versus a $30.22 close) at Barclays. The shares were down less than 0.3% on Wednesday. The 52-week range is $3.22 to $6.84, and the consensus price target is $5.52.
Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS. The 52-week range is $62.55 to $108.29. The consensus price target is $99.84.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $146 from $135 (versus a $120.15 close) at Deutsche Bank. It has a 52-week range of $101.20 to $135.65 and a consensus price target of $141.76.
Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) was maintained as Overweight but the price target was cut to $150 from $180 at JPMorgan. It has a 52-week range of $67.47 to $124.60 and a consensus price target of $121.35.
Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $100 from $75 (versus an $80.80 close) at Guggenheim. It has a 52-week range of $25.18 to $82.83, while the consensus price target is $68.81.
Tesaro Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRO) was maintained as Buy and the price target was cut to $85 from $100 at Citigroup. The 52-week range is $25.62 to $136.45, and the consensus price target is $56.20.
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Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY) has seen its shares surge since coming public, but they were down 3.6% at $51.50 on Tuesday ahead of earnings but indicated up about 15% at $59.00 on Wednesday. Cowen raised its target price to $62 from $34, and Northland Capital raised its target to $60.
Weight Watchers International Inc. (NYSE: WTW) was started as Outperform and the price target was set at $98 at Oppenheimer. It has a 52-week range of $40.93 to $105.73. The consensus price target is $116.00.
Wright Medical Group N.V. (NASDAQ: WMGI) was raised to Outperform and the target price was raised to $31 from $28 at BMO Capital Markets. The 52-week range is $19.01 to $29.89, and the consensus analyst price target is $32.07.
Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Affimed, Coty, Cree, Lululemon Athletica, Myriad Genetics, Tesla, Xilinx and many more companies.
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