Stocks were indicated to open higher on Friday morning, for more than a week’s worth of gains. The S&P 500 was also zeroing in on new highs. Despite all the economic concerns out there, the more than 10-year-old bull market has remained resilient and has managed to climb a wall of worry. Investors now need 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 Friday, September 13, 2019.
Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD | ACAD Price Prediction) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and its target price was raised to $50 from $21 (versus a $39.14 prior close) at SVB Leerink. The 52-week trading range is $13.53 to $43.98.
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Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $310 target price at Loop Capital. The stock was up just under 1% at $300.58 on Thursday ahead of earnings, but it was indicated down by the same amount on Friday morning. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $322 from $307. Wells Fargo reiterated its Market Perform rating but raised its target to $300 from $290.
CBOE Global Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) was downgraded to Underperform from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the target price was raised to $66 from $64 (versus a $54.88 close) at Wedbush Securities. The firm sees Etsy building on a critical mass of new initiatives, highlighted by Etsy Ads and free shipping, that can drive stronger gross merchandise sales growth and margin expansion over time. The 52-week trading range is $38.02 to $73.35.
Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Mizuho.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) was reiterated as Neutral at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting that the company’s effort to break into two pieces is an expensive way to split the businesses, and it sees risks to its plans to double Old Navy’s store count. Wells Fargo maintained its Market Perform rating but raised its target to $24 from $18.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was reiterated as Neutral at Credit Suisse, with the call noting the Baker Hughes stake reduction, as well as the recent sale of PK AirFinance and sales of Wabtec and BioPharma set up GE for close to $38 billion of cash sources. The 52-week trading range is $6.40 to $13.25.
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $269 from $246 at Citigroup. The 52-week trading range is $158.09 to $235.49.
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Kirkland’s Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this home decor retailer has lowered its guidance twice this year. Shares last closed at $1.52, with a consensus price target of $2.70.
Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) was reiterated as Neutral at Credit Suisse after earnings. UBS reiterated its Neutral rating as well, but the firm raised its target to $26 from $25. The 52-week trading range is $20.70 to $31.98.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $137 from $122 at Citigroup. The 52-week trading range is $84.75 to $118.23.
Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) was reiterated as Buy with a target price of $68 (versus a $53.89 close) at Argus. The independent research firm does worry that the absence of Mark Hurd will be felt even if co-CEO Safra Catz and founder and CTO Larry Ellison are certainly capable executives. The 52-week trading range is $42.40 to $60.50.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) was maintained as Buy at Merrill Lynch, but the firm cut its price objective to $127 from $131 in the call. Shares closed up almost 3% at $107.10, and the consensus target price was $126.83.
Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this stock is a way to capitalize on rising gold and silver prices without actually owning mining stocks. Shares most recently closed at $123.13, with a consensus price target of $119.92.
Shilo Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: SHLO) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Merrill Lynch.
Slack Technologies Inc. (NYSE: WORK) was started as Neutral with a $26 target price at Mizuho.
Tocagen Inc. (NASDAQ: TOCA) closed down over 77% at $0.93 on Thursday, and Citigroup downgraded it to Neutral from Buy and cut its target to $1 from $20. The 52-week trading range is $0.73 to $15.80.
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Janney has revisited its industrials and chemicals picks with the S&P 500 back over 3,000. The firm currently recommends purchases of Mueller Water Products, Xylem, Rexnord and Quaker Houghton, as they all are said to have favorable valuations and the ability to adapt to changing end-market conditions in the current macroeconomic environment. Its two Neutral-rated names are IDEX and Watts Water Technologies, based on full valuations.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AbbVie, Ally Financial, Anthem, Caterpillar, CVS Health, Deere, Oracle, PayPal, Rite Aid, Square, Uber Technologies, UnitedHealth and many more.
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