Stocks managed to squeeze out a small gain on Tuesday after a negative open, but Wednesday’s indications were a tad lower after disappointing earnings and ahead of what may be a disappointing Federal Reserve interest rate decision. Despite volatility, the S&P 500 is still very close to its all-time highs. Investors are having to grapple with a much lower growth economy at the same time the bull market is well over 10 years old. Now investors should be considering what changes to make to 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 some 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 Wednesday, September 18, 2019.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) was started with a Neutral rating and assigned an $18 target price at D.A. Davidson. The stock closed at $16.24 ahead of the call, and it has a $17.67 consensus target price.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) closed up 0.6% at $284.69 ahead of earnings, but the initial reaction to the report took its shares down 2.9% to $276.44, based on its outlook. Stifel maintained its positive outlook on Adobe, and Wedbush Securities maintained its Neutral rating with a $290 target price, noting concerns over the Marketo billings and analytics-cloud billings. JPMorgan maintained its Neutral rating and cut its target to $318 from $329. BMO maintained its Outperform rating and cut its target to $310 from $315, and Citigroup maintained it as Buy while cutting its target to $322 from $335. Nomura/Instinet maintained its Buy rating but lowered its target to $310 from $315. Adobe had a consensus target price of $312.92 ahead of the earnings, and its 52-week trading range is $204.95 to $313.11.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Outperform with the same $245 price target (versus a $220.70 prior close) at Wedbush, with the analyst noting that China could be the star of the show as the iPhone 11 launch hits.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $38 target price at DZ Bank. AT&T closed down 0.4% at $37.16 ahead of this call, with a consensus target price of $35.88 and a 52-week trading range of $26.80 to $38.75.

Chewy Inc. (NYSE: CHWY) closed down 0.6% at $30.25 ahead of its first earnings as a public company, and it shares initially traded down 4.7% to $28.78 after the report. Wedbush maintained its Neutral rating with a $30 target, noting that, despite a beat and raise quarter, the rate of revenue growth is slowing while there are many other positives. Chewy had a consensus target price of $36.90 heading into earnings, and its post-IPO trading range was $29.03 to $41.34.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) was maintained as Overweight at Morgan Stanley, but the firm did lower its target to $34 from $37 after the company’s tempered guidance. UBS reiterated its Neutral rating but lowered its target to $30 from $33. Argus maintained its Buy rating and $42 long-term target price. Shares closed down 6% at $28.23, and the prior consensus target price was $32.02 ahead of the move and analyst reactions.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the Croc is cool again, propelling a Gen Z fashion statement into a fashionable trend. Shares closed most recently at $28.79, with a consensus price target of $32.00.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) was maintained as Buy at Nomura/Instinet, but the target price was lowered to $52 from $56 in that call. Dow closed down 2% at $48.00, and its consensus target price was $54.73.

Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) was reiterated with a Buy rating and a $53 target price (versus a $47.29 close) at Argus. Shares closed down 0.2% ahead of the call, and the consensus target price is $52.91.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was already way off its highs, but the 27-cent drop to $173.30 was followed by a post-earnings drop of over 7% to $159.90 in Tuesday’s after-hours reaction to lower guidance. Robert W. Baird maintained its Outperform rating but lowered its target to $175 from $180. Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal Weight rating but cut its target to $120 from $130. JPMorgan maintained its Neutral rating but lowered its target to $318 from $329. Stifel downgraded FedEx to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $171 from $185. The stock had a consensus target price of $187.19 ahead of the earnings, and its 52-week trading range was $147.82 to $250.95.

Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) was maintained as Outperform and the price target was raised to $80 from $70 (versus a $75.63 close) at Robert W. Baird.

NCR Corp. (NYSE: NCR) was started with a Market Perform rating and assigned a $45 target price (versus a $32.87 close) at Wells Fargo.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was upgraded to Hold from Sell and the target price was raised to $63 from $55 at Craig-Hallum. It closed up 0.6% at $59.60 and was indicated up 0.8% at $60.10, and its prior consensus target price was $81.53. The 52-week trading range is $49.82 to $101.15.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Tailored Brands Inc. (NYSE: TLRD) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this stock has been toxic for some time now and, unless significant systemic changes are made, its toxicity will continue. Shares closed at $4.54 and have a consensus price target of $6.97.

Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NASDAQ: TMHC) was reiterated as Outperform with a $27 price target (versus a $24.87 close) at Wedbush, with the firm noting that third-quarter orders for new homes are tracking ahead of the firm’s forecasts and broad-based demand.

Tellurian Inc. (NASDAQ: TELL) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $14 target price (versus an $8.33 close) at Evercore ISI. It was indicated up 2% at $8.50, and its consensus target price was $11.47 ahead of this call.

TerraForm Power Inc. (NASDAQ: TERP) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight with a $17 target price (versus a $17.58 close) at JPMorgan. Shares were indicated down 1.8% at $17.25 on Wednesday, and they have a $16.22 consensus target price.

Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZBH) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $167 target price (versus a $138.84 close) at Canaccord Genuity. It has a consensus target price of $148.40.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) was reiterated as Outperform with an $80 target price at Wedbush, with the firm talking up the cloud growth to the next level after a very positive reaction to the company’s user conference. Also, Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating and $70 target price and said that it has a better appreciation of its expanded market opportunity after the conference. Shares closed up 6.3% at $50.64 on Tuesday, but they are still down handily from the high and since it reported earnings.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) was started as Neutral with a $7 target price (versus a $6.04 close) at JPMorgan. It was indicated almost 1% on Wednesday and its consensus target price is $7.36.

This is FOMC Day, and it has suddenly become far less clear whether Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his Federal Open Market Committee members will cut interest rates in the Wednesday announcement, and that will mark the second day of repurchase activity to keep federal funds within the target range. Credit Suisse has previewed the Fed’s announcement and said:

While the market’s expectation is for 100 basis points of further easing, the Fed’s Dot Plot does not concur. Adjusting this guidance lower will be an important signal for equity investors. More important than the much anticipated 25 basis point cut, the Fed must convince investors that they are committed to steepening the curve through further accommodation. With both growth and inflation near 2%, a simple reiteration of data dependence would likely disappoint investors.

Record unemployment may generate a very solid holiday season sales surge to boost gross domestic product in the fourth quarter.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Bank of America, CME, ConocoPhillips, CSX, EverQuote, Home Depot, IAC/InterActive, Snap, Splunk, Square, TJX Companies and many more.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.