Stocks were indicated to have a small gain ahead of the opening bell on Friday. The S&P 500 has challenged all-time highs and the Nasdaq put in a new high with a strong earnings season this week. With strong double-digit gains already being seen so far in 2019, investors need to be considering how they want their portfolios positioned for the rest of the year and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new trading and investing ideas for our readers. Some of the daily analyst reports cover stocks to buy, but other reports 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 Refinitiv (Thomson Reuters) sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday, April 26, 2019.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) had a significant earnings beat, but the company’s note that it would have to increase spending and operating costs is keeping shares in check, with a 1.3% gain at $1,928.00 in early indications. Wedbush Securities reiterated Amazon as Outperform with a $2,350 target price, and Goldman Sachs reiterated it as Buy but raised its price target to $2,400 from $2,100. Merrill Lynch also reiterated its Buy rating, and it raised its price objective to $2,300 from $2,100. CFRA reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $2,200 from $2,000.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) was started with a Buy rating at Desjardins (a Canadian firm). Shares closed at $9.07, in a 52-week range of $4.05 to $12.52.

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE: AXTA) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. Shares closed at $26.75, in a 52-week range of $21.58 to $32.83. The consensus target price is $30.00.

BankUnited Inc. (NYSE: BKU) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Barclays. After closing down 1% at $36.10, shares were indicated down another 1% at $35.75 on Friday.

Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) was started with a Sell rating at UBS. Shares closed at $43.73, in a 52-week range of $40.29 to $54.14. The consensus target price is $47.07.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) was up 2.3% at $9.73 ahead of earnings and was indicated up another 2% at $9.90 afterward. Credit Suisse upgraded it to Outperform from Neutral and raised the target price to $14 from $13.

Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) was started with a Buy rating at UBS. Shares closed at $119.15, in a 52-week range of $84.37 to $124.00. The consensus target price is $127.60.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS. It closed down 4.5% at $188.87 a share on Thursday and was indicated down 1.5% at $186.00 on Friday. FedEx has a consensus target price of $208.88 and a 52-week trading range of $150.94 to $266.67.

Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC. Shares closed at $135.56, in a 52-week range of $93.85 to $149.85. The consensus target price is $140.57.

Group 1 Automotive Inc. (NYSE: GPI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research. Shares closed at $76.31, in a 52-week range of $48.69 to $81.16. The consensus price target is $80.67.

Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB) was reiterated as Outperform with a $100 target price (versus a $69.78 close) at Wedbush, with the firm noting that the earnings prove the sky isn’t falling and that investors should focus on the company’s reach and differentiation from competitors. The 52-week range is $63.31 to $149.35, and shares were indicated up 4.6% at $73.10 after the report. The consensus target price is $100.05.

Hexo Corp. (NYSEARCA: HEXO) was started with a Buy rating at Desjardins.

Lithia Motors Inc. (NYSE: LAD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch, a day after it rose almost 5% to $110.10 and hit a new high not seen since the start of 2018.

Medicines Co. (NASDAQ: MDCO) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $55 from $25 (versus a $29.80 close) at Goldman Sachs. The stock was indicated up 6.3% at $31.67 after the post-earnings analyst call. Its 52-week range is $16.69 to $41.57, but the consensus target price was already at $50.36.

Proofpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: PFPT) was up 3% at $131.32 ahead of earnings but traded down 4.4% at $125.50 in early Friday trading. Wedbush reiterated it as Outperform with a $138 price target, as the firm sees tailwinds building with solid visibility and raised guidance.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. Shares closed at $91.34, in a 52-week range of $68.62 to $97.41. The consensus target price is $92.11.

Shutterfly Inc. (NASDAQ: SFLY) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $56 target price (versus a $42.21 close) at Raymond James. Shares were indicated up 8% at $45.75 on Friday morning.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was up 0.9% at $77.11 ahead of earnings and was indicated down 0.3% at $76.85 afterward. The stock was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo, a valuation downgrade after shares hit an all-time high.

Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) was started with a Neutral rating at UBS. Shares closed at $60.75, ins a 52-week range of $56.33 to $75.24. The consensus target price is $64.46.

Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $242 price target (versus a $216.81 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The consensus target price is $241.56.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and the target price was lowered to $40 from $50 (versus a $52.95 close) at Robert W. Baird. Its shares closed down 1.8% on Thursday, and they were indicated down another 5.5% at $50.05 on Friday morning.

Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Thursday’s top analyst calls included American Express, Chipotle Mexican Grill, CyberArk Software, Facebook, Lululemon Athletica, Microsoft, Nokia, Sirius XM, Tesla, Wynn Resorts and many more.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.