Stocks were trading lower again on Thursday morning ahead of the tariff news, with President Trump signaling that China basically broke the deal at the last minute. Investors have seen more than ample reason to “sell in May and go away” with the markets still being so close to all-time highs. It’s time for investors to consider how they want their portfolios positioned for the rest of 2019.

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 Thursday, May 9, 2019.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) was removed from the Best Ideas List at Wedbush Securities. The firm still favors the stock over the long term, but it is moving to the sidelines as recent market volatility has been a concern and as the current share price seems to have priced in much of the bull-case upside. Also, RBC Capital Markets downgraded it to Sector Perform from Outperform. The stock’s $22.92 close compares with a 52-week range of $17.00 to $29.88, and it had a consensus target price of $24.86.

Atlassian Corp. PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $125 price target (versus a $117.17 prior close) at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target price is $116.53, and shares just hit a new all-time high on Wednesday.

Laredo Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: LPI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $7 price target (versus a $3.46 close) at Robert W. Baird. It had a consensus target price of $4.38, with a $791 million market cap and a 52-week trading range of $2.80 to $10.43.

Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH) was raised to Neutral from Sell with a $66 price target (versus a $67.88 close) at Goldman Sachs. This is after the shares closed up 12.4% after strong earnings, but the stock had a $58.24 consensus target price ahead of the move.

NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform and the price target was raised to $202 from $187 (versus a $187.88 close) at Scotiabank. The consensus target price is $197.37, and the 52-week high is $195.55.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush. Shares closed up 1.4% at $39.93 on Wednesday and were indicated down by 1.6% at $39.30 on Thursday. The consensus target price is $50.69, and the 52-week trading range is $38.91 to $67.75. This upscale apparel retailer’s shares just hit a 52-week low the previous day, and that is now close to challenging five-year lows.

Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) was downgraded to Underperform from Buy in a two-notch downgrade at Merrill Lynch, and the firm halved its price objective to $2 from $4 in the call. The stock closed down 1.3% at $2.21 after earnings, but its shares initially had been higher on potential turnaround ambitions.

OraSure Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OSUR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity. It closed at $9.75 and has a 52-week range of $8.75 to $17.97. Its consensus target price was $12.67.

Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PTGX) was raised to a Buy rating from Hold with a $17 price target at Stifel. The closing price (after a 6% gain) on Wednesday was $9.54.

Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform and the target price was raised to $145 from $135 (versus a $124.39 close) at RBC Capital Markets. The consensus target price is $138.93, and the 52-week trading range is $95.63 to $147.79.

Regional Management Corp. (NYSE: RM) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $36 price target (fair value estimate) at Janney. The stock previously closed at $25.54, and Janney sees it at a 61% discount to its closest peer but noted a somewhat weak quarter as management culled credit risk ahead of the next credit cycle.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) was last seen trading up 9% at $71.00 after earnings showed strong revenue growth. Wedbush maintained its Neutral rating with a $65 price target (versus a $64.92 close), and the firm noted that there are still growth opportunities but they are fully priced into the stock at these levels as R&D spending may remain elevated for several years to compete with Amazon and Google for TV licensing and as it spends handsomely to expand internationally.

Seaspan Corp. (NYSE: SSW) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. Its shares closed up 2.3% at $10.02 on Wednesday, and it has a consensus target price of $9.06.

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $70 price target (versus a $58.70 close) at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week range is $38.39 to $61.63, and the consensus target price is $62.00.

Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ: STMP) already had seen its shares gutted earlier in the year after its USPS arrangement ended. Now it has lowered its guidance again, and after closing at $83.39, its shares were indicated down almost 50% at $43.50. B. Riley downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and slashed its price target to $45 from $130.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. (NYSE: SKT) was downgraded to Sell from an already cautious Neutral rating and the target price was lowered to $15 from $19 (versus an $18.61 close) at Goldman Sachs. Shares were last seen indicated down 3% at $18.05, in a 52-week range of $17.93 to $24.91. The consensus target price is $20.79.

United Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: UTHR) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse after a 3.8% drop to $95.71 on Wednesday. The 52-week range is $95.60 to $130.00, and the consensus target price was $130.

Zayo Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets. It closed up 7.7% at $33.00 a share on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $20.27 to $39.66 and with a prior consensus target price of $34.60.

With summer right around the corner, the big U.S. retailers may be poised for big profits, and Merrill Lynch has five of the best rated Buy.

A tweet from President Trump sent an electric-battery truck company’s stock up over 200% on Wednesday, and the tiny company’s shares were even trading up again in early indications on Thursday.

Wednesday’s top analyst calls included Chipotle Mexican Grill, Hasbro, Inogen, Lending Club, Mosaic, Mylan, Pinterest, U.S. Steel and Walt Disney. Tuesday’s top analyst calls were in Alibaba, Anadarko Petroleum, Beyond Meat, Boeing, Ctrip.com, GW Pharmaceuticals, Roku, Texas Instruments, Veeco Instruments 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.