Stocks managed to close marginally lower on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC announcement, and the CME FedWatch Tool’s 94.1% probability for a rate cut at the start of the week was up to 97.3% on last look. Stocks were indicated to open up less than 0.1% on Wednesday and the direction of the day felt far from certain. The S&P 500 has just hit an all-time high this week, and earnings season is so far making all those imminent recession calls by the media look a bit ridiculous. Still, investors have a lot of negative issues to consider, and the bull market is now well over 10 years old. This is a time for investors to consider changes they should be making for 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 some 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 sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations for Wednesday, October 30, 2019.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) closed down almost 2% at $33.03 on Tuesday and was indicated down almost 1% more at $32.75 in the wake of its earnings report. Wedbush Securities reiterated AMD as Outperform with a $39 target, noting that it had strong results and better than expected EPYC sales. UBS maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target price to $34 from $31.

AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAG) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral and the target price was lowered to $6 from $9 at Piper Jaffray. Shares closed at $13.33 on Tuesday, but they were indicated down about 24% at $10.15, after notice of an FDA advisory committee meeting. The prior consensus target price was $11.88.

AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) down 3.9% at $44.96 on Tuesday and was indicated down another 1.5% at $44.30 on Wednesday. Merrill Lynch downgraded it to Neutral from Buy.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $120 target price (versus a $108.06 prior close) at Raymond James.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Outperform with the same $265 price target at Wedbush, but that target was raised recently. The firm’s note sees Apple reaching the 100 million subscriber number over three to four years and it could translate into a $7 billion to $10 billion annual revenue stream over time that also further cements its install base and halo effect that could add in another $15 per share to the sum-of-the-parts valuation.

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) was maintained as Buy but the target price was lowered to $95 from $120 at Citigroup.

Burlington Stores Inc. (NYSE: BURL) was named as the Zacks Bull of the Day as its shares have crushed the discount retail industry in recent years and it is looking for a solid holiday season.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was the Bear of the Day at Zacks, as its shares have been rather volatile over the past year amid the U.S.-China trade war and growing economic concerns.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $34 from $32 (versus a $30.26 close) at Citigroup. Deutsche Bank downgraded it to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $30 from $33.

Crane Co. (NYSE: CR) traded down 8% at $77.50 on earnings, compared with a $102.29 prior consensus target price. Canaccord Genuity downgraded it to Hold from Buy and cut the target price to $85 from $105.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) was down 2.4% at $94.41 ahead of earnings and indicated down another 0.7% at $93.75 on Wednesday morning after its revenues beat guidance and were modestly above expectations. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating with a $118 target price, while UBS maintained its Buy rating but trimmed its target price to $117 from $120.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) was maintained as Buy but the price target was lowered to $31 from $33 (versus a $26.83 close) at Citigroup.

FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) was down 4.7% at $15.48 on Tuesday ahead of earnings. Wedbush reiterated it as Neutral with a $15 target price, noting that its results that were nothing to write home about and with mixed fourth-quarter guidance.

Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB) took multiple downgrades on Tuesday as shares fell a whopping 43.3% to $33.11 on Tuesday. Wedbush decided to downgrade it to Neutral and cut the target to $30 from $90 as competition is placing a real question mark on long-term value here. JMP Securities downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform, and Stifel downgraded it to Hold from Buy. Goldman Sachs cut its rating to Neutral from Buy and slashed its target price to $30 from $86 in the wake of the news.

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: GWPH) was down 2.7% at $134.06 on Tuesday, but H.C. Wainwright started it with a Buy rating and a $170 target price. The consensus target price is $224.57.

HCA Healthcare Inc. (HCA) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $156 from $152 (versus a $134.99 close) at Citigroup.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) rose by 11.7% to $51.57 on Tuesday, above the prior consensus target price of $47.75. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey downgraded it to Hold from Buy.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform with a $115 target price (versus an $84.81 close) at Raymond James.

Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: MOH) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the target price was lowered to $120 from $133 (versus a $124.68 close) at Jefferies. The stock was indicated down over 5% at $118.00 on Wednesday.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target price was raised to $33 from $29 (versus a $23.83 close, after a 13.7% gain) at Goldman Sachs.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) was down 2.4% at $37.11 on Tuesday and was indicated down another 2.9% at $36.00 on Wednesday morning, and its consensus target price is $34.25. UBS downgraded it to Sell from Neutral.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $135 from $130 (versus a $114.41 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, but the firm did raise its target price to $110 from $105. The shares closed up 1.3% at $119.73 ahead of the call, with a $113.89 prior consensus target price.

Revance Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RVNC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the target price was raised to $20 from $12.50 (versus a $15.42 close) at Wells Fargo.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) closed down 3.8% at $312.52 after an earnings disappointment on Tuesday morning. Wedbush reiterated its Neutral rating with a $325 price target.

Steven Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) was reiterated as Neutral with a $37 target price (versus a $41.01 close) at Wedbush, with the firm noting that raised guidance was conservative but is likely reflected in the current valuation.

Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

Werner Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: WERN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

Xerox Holdings Corp. (NYSE: XRX) closed up over 11% at $34.42 after earnings, and it previously had a $37.25 consensus target price. JPMorgan downgraded it to Underweight from Neutral with a $31 target price.

Even though almost all the top 20 biggest banks beat third-quarter Wall Street estimates, the sector is still way underowned across Wall Street. Merrill Lynch has four rated Buy that are top picks now.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, American Express, Apple, AT&T, Boeing, JPMorgan, Nokia, Slack, Under Armour and many more.

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