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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, Caterpillar, HUYA, Ligand Pharma, Verizon, Weyerhaeuser and More
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The futures traded up big Monday morning as investors had the weekend to survey the damage to their accounts after the train wreck of last week. With earnings season for the third quarter starting to wind down, and October almost over, there’s a chance that some of the heavy selling is almost done. In addition, a huge technology deal in which IBM is buying Red Hat also is helping to improve the mood.
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 and trading ideas for our readers. Some of the top analyst reports cover stocks to buy. Other analyst calls cover stocks to sell or avoid.
Additional color and commentary 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 Monday, October 29, 2018.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) saw its price target lowered to $2,050 from $2,075 at JMP Securities. That compares with the Wall Street consensus price target of $2,145.16. The tech giant’s shares closed Friday at $1,642.81, down almost 8% on the day.
Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets. The 52-week trading range is $72.88 to $123.24, and the consensus price target is $102.29. Shares closed trading last Friday at $74.08.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) saw its price target lowered to $142 from $168 at Stifel. That compares with a consensus target of $156.38. Shares closed on Friday at $115.05
HUYA Inc. (NYSE: HUYA) was started with a Buy rating at Citigroup. The stock has traded in a broad range over the past year between $15.25 and $50.82. The consensus price objective is $29.69, which compares with a Friday close of $18.93. Shares traded up 3% in the premarket action.
Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: KOD), which had a recent initial public offering, was started with an Overweight rating and a $20 price target at Morgan Stanley. Barclays started it at Overweight with a $20 price target. Merrill Lynch started it with a Buy rating and a $14 target. The shares have been weak since the deal and closed Friday at $9.98.
Ligand Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: LGND) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Roth Capital. Shares have traded between $126.50 and $278.62 over the past year, and the consensus price target is a whopping $257.33. Shares closed at $167.06 on Friday.
Methanex Corp. (NASDAQ: MEOH) was raised to Buy from Hold at Tudor Pickering. The 52-week trading range is $48.55 to $88.23. The consensus price target is $78.54, and shares closed Friday at $65.89, up over 3%.
Mohawk Industries Inc. (NYSE: MHK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Northcoast. The 52-week range for the carpet and flooring giant is $113.45 to $286.85, and the consensus price target is $185.28. Friday’s close was $115.03.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw its target price raised to $58 from $56 at Morgan Stanley, which compares with a consensus target of $57.79. Shares closed Friday at $55.51
Weyerhaeuser Inc. (NYSE: WY) was raised to Buy from Neutral at D.A. Davidson. It has traded in a 52-week range of $26 to $38.39 and has a consensus price target of $35.14. Shares were crushed Friday, down 8.5% to close at $26.49.
Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:
Greenbrier Companies Inc. (NYSE: GBX) was raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna. The 52-week range is $43.05 to $64.87. The consensus price objective is $61.60, and the stock ended Friday at $48.81, down almost 10%.
Group 1 Automotive Inc. (NYSE: GPI) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Buckingham Research. The 52-week range is $52.41 to $84.47, and the consensus price is $81. The stock ended Friday at $57.55.
Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTH) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond James. The Dallas-based financial services firm has traded in a 52-week range of $17.16 to $28.31, and the consensus price target is $24.60. The stock closed on Friday at $18.83, up over 6%.
Inspire Medical Systems Inc. (NYSE: INSP) was started with an Outperform rating at Leerink Partners. The 52-week trading range is $22.50 to $57.87, and the consensus price objective is $51. The shares closed Friday at $40.
Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ: UPWK) was started with a Buy rating at Citigroup. The 52-week range is $16.70 to $23.49, and the consensus price objective was unavailable. The stock closed Friday at $18.69.
Vulcan Materials Co. (NYSE: VMC) was started with a Neutral rating and a $100 price target at Nomura. The consensus target is $130.17, and shares closed Friday at $88.37.
Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included GoldCorp, Gilead Sciences, GrubHub, Hilton Worldwide, KKR, Raymond James, Western Digital and more.
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