Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Achaogen, Apple, Athenahealth, Crocs, Disney, Finisar, Jabil, Michael Kors, Occidental, Starbucks and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: November 12, 2018 9:10 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 3:03 pm

Stocks were indicated lower on Monday on additional trade concerns between China and the United States, even with OPEC expected to lower oil production. Investors have seen lower upside after buying immediately after the big market pullbacks than in prior years. The investing community needs to consider how to position their investments for the rest of the year and into 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others 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 Monday, November 12, 2018.

Achaogen Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAO) was downgraded to Neutral with a $3 target price (versus a $2.25 prior close) at Wedbush Securities, which noted that it is reviewing strategic alternatives with an additional restructuring in place. H.C. Wainwright also lowered its rating to Neutral and slashed its target to $3 from $19.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) was down 3% at $63.42 on Friday and down another 4.9% at $60.30 on Monday on fears of a coming FDA ban on menthol cigarettes. Wells Fargo maintains an Outperform rating on the stock after the weakness.

Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was maintained as Overweight at JPMorgan, but the firm lowed its target price to $266 from $270 and this was the second price target cut at the firm in the past 30 days as it expects modest declines in iPhone shipments this year and next.

Ardagh Group S.A. (NYSE: ARD) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting that there is a continued high leverage position here.

Athenahealth Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) is being acquired. KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained its Overweight rating but lowered its target price to $142 from $170. Robert W. Baird downgraded it to Neutral on the news.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $106 from $101 at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed at $84.69 on Friday, and the consensus target price is $99.61.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was raised to Neutral from Negative at Susquehanna, despite a 7% post-earnings drop to $25.37 last Friday. Its shares were indicated up 4.4% at $26.49.

Crown Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CCK) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, which noted that the stock was effectively de-rated since its Signode acquisition.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. (NYSE: CFR) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed at $103.03 on Friday, with a consensus target price of $104.82 and in a 52-week trading range of $90.02 to $121.66.

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: DNLI) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $26 fair value estimate (versus a $16.68 close) at Janney. The firm sees a large opportunity here for its approach to neurodegenerative diseases.

Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs, after Friday’s 15.4% gain to $21.79 on news it was being acquired by II-VI.

Imperial Oil Ltd. (NYSE: IMO) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

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Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) was raised to Neutral from Sell with a $25 price target at Goldman Sachs. The stock closed down almost 2.2% at $25.29 on Friday and was still indicated down 1% at $25.00 or so on Monday. The consensus target price is $33.11, and the 52-week trading range is $23.28 to $31.77.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: KERX) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $55 from $35 (versus a $36.50 close) at Wells Fargo.

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein. The stock was down 4.6% at $47.78 on Friday, with a consensus target price of $67.56 and a 52-week trading range of $47.47 to $75.96.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) was started with an Overweight rating and assigned an $84 price target (versus a $73.55 close) at Barclays. Occidental has a consensus target price of $93.35 and a 52-week trading range of $62.47 to $87.67.

Oil States International Inc. (NYSE: OIS) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Pacific Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Planet Fitness Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) was maintained as Buy at Argus, with the independent research firm saying that the recent weakness offers a buying opportunity.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Smart Sand Inc. (NASDAQ: SND) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and the target price was cut to $2.00 from $5.50 (versus a $3.25 close) at Credit Suisse. The firm noted that the company is in the unfortunate position of being levered to the piece of the frack sand value chain, which is most at risk from the Permian sand mines. The stock was indicated down 5.2% at $3.08 a share on Monday.

Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO) was downgraded to Sell from an already cautious Neutral rating at Citigroup. The firm also lowered its target price to $33 from $43, after a nearly 3% drop to $37.93 on Friday.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $79 price target at Argus. Starbucks closed a $68.60 on Friday, and it has a consensus target price of $65.36 and a 52-week trading range of $47.37 to $68.98.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $135 from $129 at Argus, with this post-earnings call talking up growth opportunities ahead. Disney shares closed up 1.7% at $118.00 on Friday, and they have a 52-week range of $97.68 to $120.20 and a consensus target price of $120.85.

Friday’s top analyst calls included ArcelorMittal, Barclays, Cree, Ctrip.com, Michael Kors, PVH, Skyworks, TripAdvisor, YRC Worldwide, Yelp and many more.