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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Autodesk, Canopy Growth, Cree, Dynatrace, Elanco, Foot Locker, Kura Sushi USA, Lyft, Qualcomm and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: August 26, 2019 8:50 am

Last Updated: October 28, 2021 2:59 pm

Friday’s stock market dive was based on Chinese tariffs and a return tariff by the United States, and while futures were indicated lower on Sunday evening they have returned to positive territory with gains of 0.5% to 0.7% on Monday morning on news that President Trump said China wants to return to the table for negotiations. While the bull market is well over 10 years old and while the Dow Jones industrials, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all remain up with double-digit percentage gains so far in 2019, investors need to be considering how to position portfolios and assets heading into late 2019 and as 2020 approaches.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new ideas for traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while other calls 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 for Monday, August 26, 2019.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) was reiterated as Neutral with a $164 target price (versus a $143.99 prior closing price) at Wedbush Securities. The firm cited that global economic indicators have continued to soften and are creating some risk for its performance.

BHP Group Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) was reiterated as Buy with a $60 target price at Argus. Shares closed down 1.2% at $46.69 on Friday, with a consensus target price of $45.05 and a 52-week trading range of $43.19 to $59.02.

Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE: CGC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $31 price target at Seaport Global. Shares closed down almost 1% at $24.89 on Friday and were indicated up almost 2% at $25.35 on Monday.

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral and the target price was cut to $38 from $57 at Piper Jaffray. Shares closed down 1.5% at $47.10 on Friday and were indicated down almost 3% at $45.75 on Monday. Cree was trading at closer to $58 a share before its earnings and guidance disappointment.

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) was raised to Strong Buy from Market Perform with a $44 target price at Raymond James. Shares closed down 2.1% at $31.04 on Friday and were indicated up 2.4% at $31.80 on Monday. The consensus target price is $43.28, and a 52-week trading range is $23.22 to $44.66.

DTE Energy Co. (NYSE: DTE) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $145 target price (versus a $128.39 close) at Wells Fargo.

Dynatrace Inc. (NYSE: DT) has seen its quiet period come to an end, and shares closed down 1.1% at $23.90 on Friday. Its initial public offering was priced at $16, but its post-IPO range has been $20.46 to $27.48. JMP Securities started it as Outperform with a $30 target. Goldman Sachs started it as Buy with a $26 target. Barclays, KeyBanc Capital Markets and JPMorgan each started the stock as Overweight with $30 target prices. RBC started it with an Outperform rating and $28 target price, and Jefferies started it as Hold with a $23 target price.

Elanco Animal Health Inc. (NYSE: ELAN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch. The shares closed down almost 2.4% at $26.41 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $26.20 to $37.61. The prior consensus target price was $34.44.

iHeartMedia Inc. (NASDAQ: IHRT) was started with an Equal Weight rating and started with a $15 target price at Morgan Stanley. It closed up 0.7% at $13.07 on Friday, with a $24.33 consensus target price.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive and the target price was lowered to $39 from $46 at Susquehanna. Robert W. Baird downgraded it to Neutral from Outperform and cut its target price to $37 from $54. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and $50 target price.

Kura Sushi USA Inc. (NASDAQ: KRUS) has seen its quiet period end after a $14 IPO pricing, but its shares closed up 3.6% at $23.64 on Friday and it has a post-IPO range of $14.75 to $28.16. BMO Capital Markets started it with an Outperform rating and a $30 target price. Stephens started it as Overweight with a $30 target.

Lexington Realty Trust (NYSE: LXP) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $10.50 target price (versus a $10.40 close) at Wells Fargo.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $60 target price at Guggenheim. Shares closed down 4.4% at $49.11 on Friday and were indicated to open 2% higher at $50.10 on Monday. The consensus target price is $75.13, and the post-IPO range in 2019 is $47.17 to $88.60.

New Relic Inc. (NYSE: NEWR) was started as Equal Weight with a $63 target price (versus a $58.50 close) at Barclays. Its consensus target price was $90.23.

Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: OAS) closed down 6.8% at $3.01 on Friday and its prior consensus target price was $5.65. Ladenburg Thalmann downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and lowered the target price to $5 from $7. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $2.41 to $14.57.

Organogenesis Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ORGO) was reinstated as Outperform with a $10 target price at Credit Suisse, with the firm calling it an undervalued regenerative medicine story for wound care products to the inpatient and outpatient setting. The shares were indicated up 3.7% at $4.48 on Monday.

Pivotal Software Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTL) is being acquired and Credit Suisse downgraded it to Neutral from Outperform.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the June quarter was disappointing and management significantly lowered guidance. Shares of Qualcomm closed down 4.7% at $73.52 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $49.10 to $90.34 and with a $78.59 consensus target price.

Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) closed down 4.57% at $3.76 on Friday, and its prior consensus target price was $8.71. Ladenburg Thalmann downgraded it to Neutral from Buy and cut the target price to $5 from $11.

SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this company has been on a tear since the beginning of the year, yielding investors over 120%.

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