Stocks are coming off of a miserable week, but the futures were marginally positive on Monday morning. Investors have seen less upside from buying immediately after the big market sell-offs than in prior years, and now they have to consider how they want their investments and assets positioned for 2019.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day 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 on Monday, December 10, 2018.
Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $112 price target (versus an $88.65 prior close) at HSBC. It had a consensus analyst target of $123.31 and a 52-week trading range of $86.75 to $138.76. Its shares were indicated up almost 1% at $89.50, after falling 2.8% to $88.65 on Friday.
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Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: ADS) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $240 price target (versus a $180.44 close, after a 3.6% drop) at BMO Capital Markets.
Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) was raised to Buy from Neutral but the price target was lowered to $34 from $39 at Seaport Global. The 52-week range is $32.96 to $50.03, and the consensus target price is $47.52.
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $101 price target (versus an $82.67 close) at Robert W. Baird. It had a consensus target price of $113.59, and the 52-week trading range is $81.85 to $106.50.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the target was lowered to $84 from $107 at B. Riley FBR. Shares closed down 1.5% at $74.03 on Friday and were indicated another 0.7% at $73.59 on Monday. The consensus target price was $98.37.
CoreSite Realty Corp. (NYSE: COR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $102 price target (versus a $97.19 close) at Jefferies.
Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $136 from $124 (versus a $115.72 close) at Jefferies.
Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $479 from $454 (versus a $386.47 close) at Jefferies.
Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. (NYSE: FBHS) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $54 target price (versus a $42.59 close) at Goldman Sachs.
JELD-WEN Holding Inc. (NYSE: JELD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $20 target price (versus a $16.89 close) at Goldman Sachs.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral with a $16 target price (versus a $16.73 close) at Nomura/Instinet.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS), which was recently the subject of buyout rumors, was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $20 target price (versus a $13.64 close) at Goldman Sachs.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) was maintained as Neutral with a $95 price target at Wedbush Securities ahead of this week’s analyst day.
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Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform with a $26 price target (versus a $16.05 close) at Evercore ISI.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was maintained as Overweight but the price target was lowered to $61 from $73 (versus a $35.31 close, after a 6.26% drop) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The stock was indicated down 1.1% at $34.90 on Monday, and it had a consensus target price of $60.00 and a 52-week trading range of $33.82 to $64.66.
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and the target price was slashed to $23 from $43 (versus a $28.69 close) at Goldman Sachs. It was indicated down almost 4% at $27.60 on Monday, and its prior consensus target price was $44.61.
Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI.
Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $58 price target at Goldman Sachs.
Parsley Energy Inc. (NYSE: PE) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform with a $39 price target at Evercore ISI.
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was lowered to $99 from $126 at B. Riley FBR.
Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral at Nomura/Instinet.
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: RNR) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the target was raised to $168 from $143 at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. The stock closed up 4% at $139.20 on Friday, and its prior consensus target price was $140.
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SecureWorks Corp. (NASDAQ: SCWX) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $17 target price (versus a $15.64 close, after an 8.5% drop) at Morgan Stanley.
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Sector Weight From Overweight by KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Visteon Corp. (NYSE: VC) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and the target price was lowered to $63 from $83 at Goldman Sachs.
Wageworks Inc. (NYSE: WAGE) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities.
Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
While this trading has been reminiscent of bear market trading action, it is important to heed some dire warnings about when to trust analyst calls during bear markets.
Credit Suisse has listed its nine newest top picks to outperform into 2019.
Friday’s top analyst calls included Apple, Broadcom, Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy, Lululemon Athletica, SecureWorks, Tesla, Zendesk and many more.
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