Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alibaba, Big Lots, Constellation Brands, Deckers Outdoor, Dow, Lennox, Sina, Vale, Zoom Video and More

Investing

Published: May 24, 2019 9:05 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 8:24 pm

The futures traded higher Friday morning, but trade remains the driver of market anxiety and concern. Toss in the fact that many are leaving Wall Street early to enjoy a long Memorial Day weekend, so we could be in for a volatile but lower volume day.

Many investors have to be considering if “sell in May and go away” is more prudent in 2019 than in prior years, particularly as the indexes are still quite close to all-time highs. Investors also should be considering 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 in an effort to find new trading and investing ideas for our readers. Some of these 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, May 24, 2019.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) was added to the Select List at Stifel, which kept its Buy rating intact and posted a $220 price target. That compares to the consensus target on Wall Street of $208.69. The stock was last seen Thursday at $156.00.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray, which also lowered the price target to $31. That compares to a consensus price target of $39.91. The stock closed Thursday at $29.31, down over 4% on the day.

Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $25 price target at Guggenheim. The consensus target is $22.78. The stock closed Thursday at $18.23, down almost 10% on the day.

CannTrust Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CTST) was started with a Buy rating and an $11 target at Merrill Lynch. This is yet another of the popular marijuana stocks getting coverage on Wall Street. The shares closed Thursday at $5.69. The stock was up almost 5% in the premarket.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range for the spirits giant is $150.37 to $234.26. The consensus price target is $223.09, and the shares closed Thursday at $206.21.

Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) saw its price target raised to $152 at Pivotal Research. The consensus price target is set at $146.58. The stock ended Thursday’s trading at $147.41, but it was up almost 7% in the premarket, after posting solid results Thursday.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at JPMorgan, and the analyst left the price target for the stock unchanged at $49. That compares with a much higher consensus target of $61.48. The shares were last seen Thursday at $48.71.

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Ericsson Inc. (NASDAQ: ERIC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Credit Suisse. The 52-week trading range for the company is $7.16 to $10.46, and the consensus price target is $10.29. The stock closed Thursday at $9.72.

Lennox International Inc. (NYSE: LII) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS. The analyst noted that the company is trading at a peak multiple on peak growth. The heating and cooling giant has traded in a 52-week range of $177.36 to $282.20, and the consensus price target is $250.36. The stock closed near the 52-week high on Thursday at $276.37.

Lenovo Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: LNVGY) is raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. The analyst cited the company’s fundamentals continuing to improve following the fourth quarter beat, and its valuation is attractive at current share levels. The consensus price target is $15.05, and the shares closed Thursday at $14.99.

Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $40.34 to $96.71. The consensus price target is $80.71. The stock closed Thursday at $42.54, down over 10% on the day.

Tricida Inc. (NASDAQ: TCDA) was started with a Buy rating and a $50 price objective at Needham. The consensus target is $54. The stock closed at $37.88 on Thursday.

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Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch. The 52-week trading range is $10.89 to $16.13, and the consensus price target is $14.49. Thursday closing price was $11.79 a share.

Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE: VEEV) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley, but the firm actually raised the price target to $144. That compares to a lower consensus target of $130.13. The shares ended trading on Thursday at $140.94.

Vodafone Group PLC (NYSE: VOD) was raised to Buy from Hold at HSBC. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $15.53 to $26.69, and the consensus price target is $24.80. The stock ended trading at $15.56 on Thursday.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NYSE: ZM) was started with a Buy rating at Oppenheimer. The stock had a recent red-hot initial public offering and continues to act outstanding. Since the IPO, the shares have traded between $59.94 and $91.46. The consensus price target is $73.18, and the stock closed Thursday at $78.76.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AK Steel, Amgen, Booking, Chubb, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Expedia, Gilead Sciences, Goodyear, Philip Morris, Target, Zscaler and more.

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