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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: BofA, CME, Conoco, CSX, EverQuote, Home Depot, IAC/InterActive, Snap, Splunk, Square, TJX and More
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Stocks closed lower on Monday after the attacks in Saudi Arabia caused a record surge in oil prices. Stocks were indicated lower on Tuesday, but a 0.1% or so average index drop was not signaling any clear outcome for the day. The markets have been volatile, and the S&P 500 came within 1% of its all-time high again last week. Investors have to grapple with a much lower growth economy at the same time the bull market is well over 10 years old. They should be considering what changes to make in their 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 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 for Tuesday, September 17, 2019.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was reiterated as Overweight at Morgan Stanley, and the price target was raised to $33 from $31 (versus a $30.13 prior close, after a 0.1% drop) in that call. The consensus target price was $33.19, and the 52-week trading range is $22.66 to $31.37.
Cboe Global Markets Inc. (CBOE) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $133 target price (versus a $111.00 close) at Oppenheimer.
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $234 target price (versus a $207.00 close) at Oppenheimer.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS, which raised its target price to $75 from $70. Conoco closed up 9% at $62.53 on Monday’s the surge in oil prices.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) was maintained as Neutral at UBS, but the target price was cut to $75 from $81. Shares closed down about 0.1% at $72.39 after Monday’s oil price surge.
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY) was reiterated as Market Perform but the target price was raised to $44 from $40 at Wells Fargo.
EverQuote Inc. (NASDAQ: EVER) was downgraded to Underperform from Buy at Merrill Lynch. The stock closed up 10.6% at $24.73 on Monday despite the market drop, with a prior consensus target price of $21.07 and a 52-week trading range of $4.05 to $25.22.
Extended Stay America Inc. (NASDAQ: STAY) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that two straight misses of consensus estimates are keeping new buyers away from this stock. Shares last closed at $14.61, with a consensus price target of $17.25.
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim. Home Depot closed down 1.3% at $230.99 on Monday and had a consensus target price of $226.00.
IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $290 target price (versus a $229.23 close) at Citigroup. It has a $300.32 consensus target price.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $100 target price (versus a $91.88 close) at Oppenheimer.
Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: KPTI) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $15 from $11 (versus an $11.85 close) at Wedbush Securities. The firm said that the fresh royalty agreement will alleviate any financing needs that the company would have otherwise had.
NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at D.A. Davidson. It closed up 0.3% at $21.79 on Monday, with a consensus target price of $22.67.
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) was maintained as Buy at UBS, but the target price was cut to $216 from $230. Shares closed up nine cents at $182.28 after Monday’s oil price surge.
Orchard Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ: ORTX) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $31 target price (versus a $15.50 close, after a 3.1% gain) at Guggenheim.
PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE: PAGS) was raised to Hold from Reduce at HSBC.
Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE: SHAK) was reiterated as Hold at Stifel, but the firm raised its target price to $80 from $65 (versus a $100.78 close, after a 0.8% gain).
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was raised to Neutral from Negative at Susquehanna, and the firm raised its target to $18 from $12. The stock closed down 1.5% at $15.76 on Monday and was indicated up 1.7% at $16.03 on Tuesday. Snap had a consensus target price of $16.38, and its 52-week trading range is $4.82 to $18.36.
Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, which also has a $130 target price. The stock closed up 1% at $114.82 on Monday, with a consensus target price of $150.02 and a 52-week trading range of $83.69 to $143.70.
Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was reiterated as Neutral with a $75 target price (versus a $59.25 close) at Wedbush, with a warning that Square looks like it about to have a margin-diluting investment phase that could create a noisy period for the coming quarters.
TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell and the target price was raised to $58 from $41 at UBS. Shares closed down 2% at $55.43 on Monday, as the surge in oil prices competes with retail spending.
Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) was maintained as Buy at UBS, but the target price was cut to $193 from $201. The stock closed down about 1.5% at $168.95 after Monday’s oil price surge.
With the talk of a potential Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) release if it is needed, here is a look at what the SPR really is. Also, here is how 10 oil and gas stocks surged higher while transportation stocks were very mixed (despite being sensitive to the price of oil) on the Saudi-oil impact news. We also have covered how the weaponization and attacks with drones have only just begun.
Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Aimmune Therapeutics, Apple, Aurora Cannabis, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Halliburton, HP, JPMorgan, Lowe’s, Lyft, Schlumberger, Uber Technologies and many more.
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