Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AbbVie, Boston Beer, Carvana, HD Supply, Marathon Petroleum, Square, Trade Desk, Whirlpool and More

Investing

Published: September 26, 2019 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 3:24 pm

The futures traded higher Thursday morning as investors continue to try and discern exactly what the Democrats’ impeachment plans are. The market had a strong reversal yesterday after President Trump released the transcripts of his phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. This is a time when investors need to be considering exactly how they want their portfolios and assets positioned for the final months 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 traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. 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 on Thursday, September 26, 2019.

Aarons Inc. (NYSE: AAN) was started with a Buy rating and a $75 price target at Merrill Lynch. The Wall Street consensus price target for the rent-to-own giant is $72.44. The stock was last seen Wednesday trading at $61.63 per share.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, which also raised the price target on the pharmaceutical giant to $90. That compares with a consensus target of $86.47. The stock closed Wednesday at $72.09.

Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital, which also raised the price target on the stock to $415. The consensus figure for the brewer of specialty beer is $364.58. The stock closed Wednesday at $349.

Bruker Corp. (NASDAQ: BRKR) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch, which as a price target of $52. That compares with a consensus target of $50.73. The stock ended trading Wednesday at $43.27.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) saw its target price raised to $62 from $59 at Cowen, which also reiterated its Outperform rating on the shares. That compares to the $54.65 consensus target. Shares were last seen trading at $48.67.

Carvana Co. (NASDAQ: CVNA) was started with a Neutral rating and a $75 price target at JPMorgan. The posted consensus price objective is $75.71. The last trade on Wednesday came in at $70.52.

Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE) was started with an Underperform rating and a $110 price target at Merrill Lynch. The consensus target is higher at $119.95. With the shares closing trading at $122.21, and up almost 40% this year, this could be a valuation call.

Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the outlook appears strong heading into the holiday season. Shares most recently closed at $97.31, with a consensus price target of $119.46.

Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: DNLI) was started with a Neutral rating and a $19 price target at Wedbush. The much higher consensus target is $27.33, and the shares ended trading on Wednesday at $17.32.

Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN) was started with a Buy rating and a price target of $84 at Merrill Lynch. The consensus figure is $86.67. The last trade on Wednesday came in at $72.67, with the stock up 2.5% on the day.

ALSO READ: 4 Blue-Chip Large-Cap Stocks That All Yield a Massive 7% or More

GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this stock’s downturn has been years in the making. Shares last closed at $5.20, with a consensus price target of $4.89.

HD Supply Inc. (NYSE: HDS) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays, and the firm also lowered the price target to $42. The consensus target is $46.08. The shares closed trading on Wednesday at $39.24.

Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral and the price target was lifted to $59 at Merrill Lynch. That compares to a lower consensus target of $53.09. The stock closed Wednesday at $50.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) saw its price target raised from $57 to $60 at Cowen. With activist investor Elliot Management proposing to split the company in three ways, the Cowen analysts estimate a modest $5 per share accretion on a retail spin, though they see this as unlikely given it was evaluated two years ago. The consensus price target for the stock is $77, and it closed Wednesday at $60.15 a share.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch, which also dropped the price target to $58 per share. The consensus price target stands at $33.50. The stock ended Wednesday at $29.93 down over 3%.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo, which also set an $80 price objective, the same as the consensus target price. The 52-week trading range is $49.82 to $101.15, and the shares last trade on Wednesday came in at $58.51.

The Trade Desk Inc. (NYSE: TTD) was raised to Neutral from Reduce at Nomura, which also lifted the price target on the shares to $180. That compares with a huge consensus target of $275.47. The stock closed Wednesday at $194.58, and shares were higher in Thursday’s premarket.

ALSO READ: Despite the Big Move in Gold Prices, RBC Still Sees Upside to Top Stocks

Timken Co. (NYSE: TKR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch, which has a $51 price objective. The consensus price target is higher at $54.89. The shares ended Wednesday at $43.80.

Veeva Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VEEV) was raised to an Outperform rating from Market Perform at Raymond James. The 52-week trading range for the stock is a wide $79.26 to $176.90. The consensus price target is set at $175.60, and the stock was last seen trading at $155.30.

Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, which also raised the price target on the home appliance giant to $172. The consensus price target is $149, but the stock closed above that level Wednesday at $150.36.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Comcast, Diamond Offshore, Home Depot, KB Home, Liberty Global, Wayfair and many more.

The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)

If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.

Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.