The futures traded down triple digits Friday morning as investors digested a very volatile trading week. Continued positive talk on trade, with China acknowledging the resumption of soybean and oil purchases, was overshadowed by the continued slowdown of the Chinese economy. Unfortunately, investors have to keep in mind that there has been less upside from buying immediately after the big market sell-offs than in prior years. Now investors 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 of the week. Our goal is 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 Friday, December 14, 2018:
Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) saw its price target lowered at Needham to $60 from $90. The Wall Street consensus price target for the video game leader is $72.62. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $48.51 a share. The stock was down almost 3% in Friday’s premarket.
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AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) was started with a Buy rating at SunTrust. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $32.69 to $41.78. The consensus price target is $43.04, and the stock closed Thursday at $39.24.
BioMarin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) was started with a Perform rating at Oppenheimer. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $75.81 to $106.74, and the consensus price target is $121.67. The shares ended most recently at $93.89.
Ciena Inc. (NASDAQ: CIEN) saw its price target raised to $42.50 at B. Riley FBR. That compares with a consensus target of $35.70. The stock was up over 8% on Thursday after posting solid earnings, and it closed at $34.91.
Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) saw its target price reiterated at $67 at Cowen. The firm believes the underlying fundamentals of the business are little changed with continued strong demand that is driving top line growth. The consensus target for the airline is set at $69.79. The shares were hammered Thursday, closing down almost 5% at $53.55.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK) was started with a Hold rating at SunTrust. The 52-week trading range is $34.83 to $42.36, and the consensus price target is set at $42.87. The shares ended Thursday trading at $37.94.
Procter & Gamble Inc. (NYSE: PG) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range for the consumer products giant is $70.73 to $96.79. The consensus price target is posted at $90.88. The shares ended trading on Thursday at $96.49.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) is raised to Buy and was added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week trading range for the biotech giant is $281.89 to $416.49, and the consensus price objective is $426.065. The shares closed Thursday at $378.51.
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Tesla Inc. (NYSE: TSLA) was started with an Outperform rating at Wedbush with a $440 price target. That compares to the consensus price target of $331.60. The stock closed Thursday at $376.79.
Universal Health Services Inc. (NYSE: UHS) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. The stock has traded between $108.62 and $139.63 over the past year. The posted consensus price objective is $138.24. The stock ended trading on Thursday at $131.97.
Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:
AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAG) saw its price target lowered to $20.50 from $28 at B. Riley FBR. The analysts see the firm’s drug ciraparantag as an attractive pipeline addition although the firm does not expect FDA approval until the last half of 2021 and launch in 2022. The consensus price target is posted at $20.38. The stock closed Thursday at $16.99.
CECO Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ: CECE) was started with a Buy rating at Maxim Group with a $10 price target. That compares to the consensus target of $9. The shares closed Thursday at $7.53.
EMCOR Group Inc. (NYSE: EME) was started with a Hold rating at Maxim Group with a $68 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $85. The stock closed Thursday at $64.81.
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Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was started with a Buy rating at Deutsche Bank The 52-week trading range for the venerable automaker is $8.17 to $13.48, and the consensus price target is $9.89. The shares closed Thursday at $8.50.
New York Times Inc. (NYSE: NYT) was started with an Outperform rating at Evercore ISI. The 52-week trading range for the iconic newspaper is $18.08 to $28.72. The consensus price target is $28.25.
Trade Desk Inc. (NYSE TTD) saw its price target raised to $160 from $130 at Oppenheimer. That compares with the consensus price target of $129.71. The shares closed Thursday at $139.
WellCare Inc. (NYSE: WCG) was added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week trading range is $187.06 to $324.99, and the consensus price objective is $334.60. The shares ended trading on Thursday at $244.35.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Arena Pharmaceuticals, Autodesk, Coca-Cola, General Electric, Marvell, Monster Beverages, Nabors, Procter & Gamble, and more.
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