Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Abercrombie, BHP, Coca-Cola, Monster Beverage, Procter & Gamble, Rio Tinto, Toll Brothers and More

Investing

Published: March 7, 2019 8:55 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 11:49 pm

Stocks were indicated to open marginally higher on Thursday, but not by enough of a line to feel like the day’s direction has been set. The market has pulled back from highs, but the move is also after the Dow Jones industrials had risen well over 3,000 points from its lows in January. Investors should be considering how they want their assets positioned for the rest of 2019 and beyond.

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 Refinitiv (Thomson Reuters) sell-side research service.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday, March 7, 2019.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) was raised to Neutral from Underweight and the target price was raised to $27 from $19 at JPMorgan.

Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and was removed as a Top Pick at RBC Capital Markets.

BHP Group Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe Generale.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) was started as Outperform and assigned a $172 price target at Credit Suisse.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was started as Neutral with a $48 price target at Credit Suisse.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) was started as Outperform and assigned a target price of $230 at Credit Suisse.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho.

Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE) was started as Outperform and assigned a $140 target price at Oppenheimer.

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Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE: MTH) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) was started with an Outperform rating at Credit Suisse.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) was started with an Underperform rating and assigned a $100 price target at Credit Suisse.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was started as Neutral with a $100 price target at Credit Suisse.

Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Societe Generale.

Sunoco L.P. (NYSE: SUN) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NASDAQ: TMHC) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Unity Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ: UBX) was started as Overweight and assigned a $21 target price (versus a $9.08 prior close) at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Wednesday’s top analyst calls included CSX, Intelsat, Kohl’s, NIO, Rio Tinto, TripAdvisor, VMware and many more.

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