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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Akamai, Anaplan, Chipotle, Hasbro, Kimberly-Clark, Rio Tinto, Sherwin-Williams, Snap, Texas Instruments, United Air, UTC, Visa and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: July 24, 2019 9:10 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 6:13 pm

Stocks were indicated to open lower after earnings reports weighed on some stocks, but that is after gains on Tuesday and Monday. With the markets now in the second half of the year, investors have many reasons to remain cautious but have to be considering how they want their assets positioned for the rest of 2019 and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv (Thomson Reuters) sell-side research service.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim.

Anaplan Inc. (NYSE: PLAN) was started as Buy and the price target was set at $70 at Deutsche Bank.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was reiterated as Neutral but the target was raised to $780 from $750 at Wedbush Securities. KeyBanc reiterated it as Overweight and raised its target price to $860 from $780. Stephens maintained its Equal Weight rating and raised its target to $700 from $650. Mizuho maintained an Underperform rating but raised its target price to $500 from $420. Shares closed at $739.60, in a 52-week range of $383.20 to $765.99. The consensus price target is $707.77.

Chubb Ltd. (NYSE: CB) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $165 from $160 at JMP Securities.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $60 from $58 at Deutsche Bank. Shares closed at $54.33, in a 52-week range of $44.25 to $54.64. The consensus price target is $53.86.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) was reiterated as Buy at Nomura/Instinet and the price target was raised to $96 from $86. JMP Securities reiterated it as Market Outperform but raised the target price to $92 from $90. Barclays reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $91 from $87. Shares closed at $84.48, in a 52-week range of $54.36 to $84.79. The consensus price target is $88.59.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $32 from $31 at Raymond James.

Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $130 from $115 at Barclays. Shares closed at $119.31, in a 52-week range of $76.84 to $119.96. The consensus price target is $116.14.

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE: KMB) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at Atlantic Equities. Shares closed at $135.05, in a 52-week range of $100.32 to $140.62. The consensus price target is $130.00.

Party City Holdco Inc. (NYSE: PRTY) was raised to Buy from Neutral but the target price was lowered to $8 from $10 at Goldman Sachs.

PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) was raised to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting that it lacks near-term growth opportunities and other catalysts that might make it attractive.

Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SWH) was maintained as Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $505 from $470.00 at Barclays. Deutsche Bank raised its target to $550 from $490 and reiterated its Buy rating. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated it as Overweight but raised its target price to $525 from $500.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was reiterated as Neutral but the price target was raised to $15 from $10 at Nomura/Instinet. Wedbush maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target to $14.75. UBS upgraded Snap to Neutral from Sell and raised its target to $16 from $8. Shares closed at $14.83, in a 52-week range of $4.82 to $16.24. The consensus price target is $12.98.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK) was reiterated as Buy at Nomura/Instinet and the target price was raised to $163 from $160.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) was reiterated as Equal Weight at Barclays, but the firm raised its target price to $120 from $105 at Barclays. Shares closed at $120.07, in a 52-week range of $87.70 to $120.35. The consensus price target is $117.11.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) was raised to In-Line from Underperform and the price target was raised to $94 from $81 at Imperial Capital. Shares closed at $94.94, in a 52-week range of $77.02 to $97.85. The consensus price target is $108.76.

United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $153 from $149 at Barclays. Shares closed at $134.94, in a 52-week range of $100.48 to $144.40. The consensus price target is $151.44.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was reiterated as Buy and the target was raised to $204 from $178 at Nomura/Instinet. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $195 from $190. Shares closed at $180.90, in a 52-week range of $121.60 to $181.84. The consensus price target is $191.78.

Zacks has named GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: GWPH) as its Bull of the Day, saying that its first FDA-approved cannabis drug treats two forms of epilepsy and has sales growth hinting at blockbuster potential. The Bear of the Day is Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN). Zacks noted that this firm just hit a growth speed bump on its way to explore ancestry and disease.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Broadcom, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Digital Realty, Murphy Oil, RealReal, Snap, Sprout’s Farmers Market, Twitter and many more.