Stocks were indicated to open marginally higher on Wednesday ahead of the FOMC decision on interest rates. With the market having recouped so much ground in 2019, investors need to consider how they want their investments and assets positioned for the rest of 2019 and for the long haul.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new trading and investing ideas. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.
Additional commentary and trading data have been added on some of the daily analyst reports. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters (Refinitiv) sell-side research service.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.
Allergan PLC (NYSE: AGN) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $178 target price (versus a $154.10 prior close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The 52-week range is $125.84 to $197.00, and the consensus analyst target is $184.29.
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BioDelivery Sciences International Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $7 target price (versus a $4.94 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Bluegreen Vacations Corp. (NYSE: BXG) was started with a Neutral rating and assigned a $16 target price (versus a $16.06 close) at Credit Suisse.
Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST | COST Price Prediction) was started with a Neutral rating and assigned a $230 price target (versus a $237.05 close) at Nomura/Instinet. The 52-week range is $180.83 to $245.16, and the consensus analyst target is $240.78.
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) was raised to Market Outperform from Market Perform with a $74 price target at JMP Securities. It has a $56.29 consensus target price.
Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the target price was raised to $117 from $103 (versus a $101.31 close) at Telsey Advisory Group.
Elanco Animal Health Inc. (NYSE: ELAN) was started with a Sell rating and assigned a $28 price target (versus a $32.83 close) at UBS.
Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $140 price target (versus a $126.59 close) at UBS. The 52-week range is $74.51 to $130.75, and the consensus analyst target is $122.00.
Endo International PLC (NASDAQ: ENDP) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $13 target price (versus an $8.77 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Envestnet Inc. (NYSE: ENV) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at D.A. Davidson.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was down 0.5% at $181.41 on Tuesday’s close ahead of earnings, but the shares were last seen down 6.6% at $169.41 ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell as trade issues continue to weigh on its earnings. JPMorgan downgraded FedEx to Neutral from Overweight and lowered the target price to $202 from $227. KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained it as Overweight but lowered its target to $215 from $240.
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FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $46 from $40 (versus a $40.41 close) at Barclays.
Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $59 price target (versus a $57.92 close, after a 4.5% drop) at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target price is $67.63, and the stock was indicated down another 1.9% at $56.81 in early Wednesday trading.
Mylan N.V. (NASDAQ: MYL) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $35 target price (versus a $28.62 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. It has a consensus target price of $36.40.
Nevro Corp. (NYSE: NVRO) was up 0.8% at $44.77 as of Tuesday’s close, but the medical device company for pain was up 22% at $54.80 after reaching an agreement with Broadfin Capital. Merrill Lynch raised its rating to Buy from Neutral with a $70 price objective. Wells Fargo upgraded it to Outperform from Market Perform with a $75 price target.
NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the target price was raised to $207 from $187(versus a $188.50 close) at Barclays. The consensus target price is $190.43.
NovoCure Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVCR) was started with a Hold rating at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The 52-week range is $19.55 to $56.67, and the consensus analyst target is $58.00.
Peabody Energy Inc. (NYSE: BTU) was started as Market Perform and assigned a $34 price target (versus a $29.99 close) at BMO Capital Markets. The 52-week range is $28.07 to $47.84, and the consensus analyst target is $40.67.
Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, which comes after having removed Sony as a “top pick” about two months earlier.
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Smart Sand Inc. (NYSE: SND) was started with a Neutral rating at B. Riley FBR.
Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup. The stock closed up 1.2% at $48.32 on Tuesday, and it had a consensus target price of $44.93.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) was started as Hold with a $17 price target (versus a $16.91 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The 52-week range is $14.59 to $25.96, and the consensus analyst target is $20.50.
Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $70 target (versus a $60.47 prior close) at Stephens.
Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with an $18 price target (versus a $16.55 close) at Mizuho. Shares were last seen down another 1% at $16.40 on Wednesday morning.
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with an $84 price target (versus a $99.24 close) at Mizuho.
Zoetis Inc. (NYSE: ZTS) was started with a Neutral rating and assigned a $100 target price (versus a $98.72 close) at UBS.
Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Boeing, Booking, Camping World, Domino’s Pizza, iRobot, MetLife, Neogen, Southern Copper, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Worldpay and many more.
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