Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Altria, EA, Embraer, Gap, Kinder Morgan, Netflix, Nike, Take-Two, Under Armour and Many More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: January 22, 2019 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 31, 2020 1:46 am

Stocks were indicated to open lower on Tuesday, the start of the shortened week. Investors have seen a big bounce in the stock market into earnings season, but they are also still recovering from major selling and volatility at the end of 2018. The trend of buying every dip into 2018 has been less rewarding for some time now, and investors need 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 in an effort to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while some of them 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 Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) was started with a Hold rating at Deutsche Bank.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight with a $45 target price (versus a $48.31 prior close) at Morgan Stanley. Altria has a 52-week range of $46.49 to $71.86 and a consensus target price of $57.95.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BJ) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $29 price target (versus a $24.60 close) at Wells Fargo. The consensus target price is $28.69.

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE: CARS) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $30 target price (versus a $25.21 close) at BTIG. It had a similar upgrade last week after announcing it was reviewing strategic alternatives. The consensus target price now is $30.58, and the 52-week trading range is $20.14 to $32.94.

CRISPR Therapeutics A.G. (NASDAQ: CRSP) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $21 price target (versus a $37.13 close) at Citigroup. The stock was indicated down 7% at $34.50 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $22.22 to $73.90.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) was started with a Hold rating at Deutsche Bank.

Embraer S.A. (NYSE: ERJ) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse, with the downgrade pointed primarily to a less favorable outlook for business jets and defense. Embraer’s American depositary shares closed down 3.5% at $21.02 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $17.99 to $28.55.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $23 target price (versus a $26.01 close) at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target price is $29.03, and a 52-week trading range is $24.25 to $35.68.

IAMGOLD Corp. (NYSE: IAG) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie. Shares closed down almost 6% at $2.83 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $2.75 to $6.52.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $255 from $250 (versus a $213.87 close) at Credit Suisse.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was maintained as Buy but the price target was lowered to $21 from $23 at Argus.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) was reiterated as Buy with a $23 price target at Argus, with the firm setting a 2020 earnings estimate that implies 9% growth.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was reiterated as Hold at Argus, with the independent research firm pointing out that margins narrowed due to increased spending on new content.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $90 price target at Cowen. It has a consensus target price of $86.55 and a 52-week range of $62.09 to $86.04.

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $250 price target (versus a $203.30 close) at UBS. The consensus target price is $241.93, and the 52-week range is $148.41 to $239.50.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen.

REV Group Inc. (NYSE: REVG) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $130 price target (versus a $108.26 close) at Deutsche Bank. Take-Two has a 52-week range of $92.81 to $139.91 and a consensus target price of $142.67.

State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $104 from $136 (versus an $89.82 close) at Goldman Sachs. Tiffany has a 52-week range of $73.04 to $141.64.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $28 price target (versus a $20.49 close) at Goldman Sachs. Its 52-week range is $12.50 to $24.96.

After earnings, four top banks and financials are still valued at or under book value.