Stocks took a breather on Wednesday morning, a move that may continue this week’s idea that the snapback rally was too quick and went too far. With so many developments and so many sidebar issues affecting the markets and the economy, investors need to be considering how they want their portfolios and assets positioned for the rest of 2019 and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new ideas for traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

We have provided these calls in a quick-hit summary for easy reading and additional comments and trading data have been added on some of the calls. 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 on Wednesday, June 12, 2019.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $35 price target at Goldman Sachs.

Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein in another valuation call.

Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Telsey Advisory, with the firm talking about potential upside from the Chili’s parent’s partnership with restaurant delivery service DoorDash.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was started as Outperform at Evercore ISI, based on a general acceleration in fast food and a decline in casual dining. Shares closed up 1.2% at $729.24, in a 52-week range of $383.20 to $730.41 and with a consensus target price of $683.00.

Choice Hotels International Inc. (NYSE: CHH) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair. Shares were trading at 52-week highs and above the consensus analyst target on Tuesday.

Dine Brands Global Inc. (NYSE: DIN) was removed from the Best Ideas List at Wedbush Securities. While maintaining an Outperform rating on the stock, it now sees a less attractive risk/reward profile at current levels. Shares had been added to the list on February 1, 2019, and they have since appreciated 20.4%. The firm continues to view the Dine Brands primarily franchised model as underappreciated and believes the current discount to franchised peers could narrow over the next six to 12 months as fears around the sustainability of Applebee’s turnaround are addressed.

Dunkin Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) was started as In-Line at Evercore ISI. Shares closed up 1.5% at $80.45, in a 52-week range of $61.69 to $80.94 and with a consensus target price of $75.65.

Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ: KHC) was started with an In-Line rating and assigned a $32 price target at Evercore ISI. Shares closed flat at $30.24, in a 52-week range of $26.96 to $64.99 and with a consensus target price of $35.61.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI.

ManpowerGroup Inc. (NYSE: MAN) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (NYSE: MMC) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. The firm cited valuations as the price is basically at an all-time high and is now above the consensus target price.

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MKTX) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral with a $245 price target (versus a $333.99 prior close) at Buckingham Research. The stock was indicated down over 2% on Wednesday.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $225 price target at Evercore ISI, with the firm noting an acceleration in fast food and a decline in casual dining. Shares closed up 1.0% at $203.26, in a 52-week range of $153.13 to $206.39 and with a consensus target price of $215.00.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was reiterated as Outperform with a $155 price target (versus a $132.10 close) at Wedbush. The firm believes that Microsoft remains in an enviable position heading into the rest of 2019 and 2020 due to the company’s cloud success and with the company firing on all cylinders around its Office 365 and Azure strategic vision. Microsoft hit a 52-week and all-time high of $134.24 on Tuesday, with a consensus target price of $143.16.

National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: FIZZ) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $50 target price at CFRA.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the target price was raised to $114 from $99 at Morgan Stanley.

ObsEva S.A. (NASDAQ: OBSV) was removed from the Best Ideas List at Wedbush. The firm noted that its removal was due to its investment price discipline, as its shares have fallen by more than 30% since being added to the list after a nearly 20% drop of late.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR) was started with an Outperform rating at Evercore ISI.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was started with an In-Line rating and assigned an $82 price target at Evercore ISI. Shares closed up 0.5% at $82.37, in a 52-week range of $47.37 to $83.33 and with a consensus target price of $77.64.

Tableau Software Inc. (NYSE: DATA) is being acquired by Salesforce.com, so Citigroup downgraded it to Neutral from Buy, as the firm feels no other buyer will steal it and the story is now priced in. First Analysis also downgraded it to Neutral from Outperform.

Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral with a $144 price target at Nomura/Instinet. The shares were last seen trading handily above its consensus analyst target.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) was started with an Outperform rating at Evercore ISI, which noted the same acceleration in fast food and a decline in casual dining.

Zacks has released its Bull and Bear of the Day for Wednesday. The Bull of the Day was Hibbett Sports Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB), as the sporting goods retailer is seeing strong estimate revision higher and comparable store sales growth. The Bear of the Day was Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH), as the firm noted that increasing labor costs have hit the restaurant stock hard and it may be difficult to rebound.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Agilent Technologies, Allergan, Beyond Meat, Canopy Growth, Dollar Tree, Facebook, Luckin Coffee, Lyft, Mylan, Symantec, Tilray, Wells Fargo and many more.

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