The futures traded lower again Friday morning as investors tried to balance yesterday’s relief rally. Prior to the big rally on Thursday, the S&P 500 had been down six days in a row. The one and only time it was down a seventh day in the past five years was right before the 2016 election, and while that statistic was avoided, we look to trade down big again today. The trend of buying the dips has not worked as well in 2018 as it has in prior years, and many investors have been considering how they want their investments positioned for the longer term.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new investing ideas 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 also has been added on some of these daily analyst calls. The consensus analyst price target data are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Friday, October 26, 2018.

FirstCash Inc. (NASDAQ: FCFS) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $90 price target at Wedbush. That compares with the Wall Street consensus target of $94.14. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $74.94.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $8.42 to $15.55. The consensus price target is set at $14.79. The shares closed Thursday at $8.49.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray. The 52-week trading range for the biotech giant is $64.27 to $89.54, and the consensus price target is set at $87.11. The stock ended trading on Thursday at $68.62.

GrubHub Inc. (NASDAQ: GRUB) was added to the Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week trading range is a wide $58.14 to $149.35, and the consensus price target is posted at $137.23. The shares closed trading on Thursday at $96.48, down almost 12% on the day.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HLT) was raised to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI. The 52-week trading range for the lodging giant is $63.76 to $88.11, and the consensus price objective is $85.22. The shares ended trading on Thursday at $85.22.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR) was raised to Buy from Hold at Argus. The 52-week trading range is $18.74 to $28.73. The consensus price target for the firm is $31.33, and the shares closed Thursday at $23.51.

Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. The stock has traded between $73.74 and $102.17 over the past year. The consensus price target is posted at $107.75. The stock was down almost 5% in premarket action, after closing Thursday at $75.56.

SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) was raised to Buy from Neutral at D.A. Davidson. The 52-week trading range is $204.32 to $333.74. The consensus price target is $362.30, and the stock closed Thursday at $263.92.

Follow @Jonogg on Twitter to receive the daily analyst calls and other market research calls directly on your feed.

Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SGYP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity. The 52-week trading range is $1.28 to $3.19, and the consensus price target is $6.24. The stock closed Thursday at $1.30, but shares were down huge in the premarket, off 67%.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Craig Hallum. The hard disk drive firm was one of a slew of tech companies posting weaker-than-expected results and giving poor forward guidance. The stock has traded between $52.25 and $106.96 over the past 52 weeks. The consensus price target is posted at $97.42. The stock ended trading on Thursday at $54.01 but was down almost 15% in premarket action.

Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:

Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $52.05 to $73.43, and the consensus price target is $67.85. The stock closed Thursday at $62.32, but shares were down in the premarket almost 6%.

Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM) saw its target price raised to $97 from $94 at Pivotal Research Group. That compares with a consensus price target of $96.93. The stock closed Thursday at $87.70.

Deckers Outdoor Inc. (NYSE: DECK) also saw its price target raised at Pivotal Research Group from $112 to $120. The consensus price target is $119.15, and the stock closed Thursday at $108.95.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush. The 52-week trading range for the fast food outlet is $75.09 to $108.55, and the consensus price target is set at $100. The shares closed Thursday’s trading at $75.72.

Proofpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: PFPT) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at First Analysis Securities. The company also lowered the price target to $110. That compares with a consensus target of $137. The shares closed Thursday at $98.98, but are down almost 19% in the premarket after posting better than expected results, but some top executives are leaving the firm.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) is raised to Neutral from Underperform at Merrill Lynch. The 52-week trading range is $56.27 to $92.45, and the consensus price target is $91.41. The shares ended Thursday trading at $89.07, up almost 6% after reporting solid earnings.

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at TD Securities. The railroad giant has traded between $115.16 and $165.63 over the past year, and the consensus price target is $168.50. The shares ended Thursday at $144.15.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AT&T, Boeing, Hilton, KB Home, Microsoft, Norfolk Southern, Pandora, UPS and many more.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.