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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AECOM, AGCO, AK Steel, AT&T, Beyond Meat, Cisco, Energizer, Kraft Heinz, Nucor, SmileDirectClub, US Steel, Verizon and More
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Stocks were indicated to open slightly lower on Thursday, but that’s after record high closes on the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 were seen on Wednesday. Despite the record levels in the past two weeks, the investor community still faces a lot of pressing issues and risks now that the bull market is over 10 and a half years old. This is a time for investors to consider what 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. Our goal is 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 sell-side research service.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations for Thursday, November 14, 2019.
AECOM (NYSE: ACM) was down 2% at $42.24 on Wednesday but was indicated up 1% at $42.70 on Thursday. UBS reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price to $50 from $42, and Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $50 from 448. The consensus target price ahead of other target hikes this week was $46.78.
AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the target price was raised to $100 from $80 at BMO Capital Markets.
AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) was reiterated as Sell and its target price was lowered to $2.00 from $2.25 at UBS. Shares closed down 2.2% at $2.64 on Wednesday, with a $1.96 consensus target price.
Altice USA Inc. (NYSE: ATUS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $28 price target (versus a $26.83 prior close) at HSBC.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $42 target price at HSBC. AT&T closed down one cent at $39.16 ahead of the call and was indicated down 0.3% at $39.03 on Thursday.
Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) was started with a Buy rating and a $100 price target at Berenberg. It closed up almost 1% at $79.01 and was indicated up over 2% at $80.80 after the call. The post-IPO trading range is $45.00 to $239.71.
Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GOOS) was maintained with an Outperform rating but its target price was lowered to $62 from $72 (versus a $34.81 close, after a 10.8% post-earnings drop) at Credit Suisse.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was up 0.2% at $48.46 on Wednesday ahead of earnings, but the shares were last seen down about 5.5% at $45.75 after guidance and the report failed to show any great spending climate. Merrill Lynch maintained its Buy rating but lowered its price objective to $56 from $62. KeyBanc maintained it as Overweight but cut the target to $52 from $54. Piper Jaffray maintained its Neutral rating but cut the target to $50 from $51, and Barclays maintained its Equal Weight rating and cut its target to $47 from $51. Wells Fargo maintained an Outperform rating, but with a target cut to $58 from $60, and Nomura/Instinet reiterated its Neutral rating while lowering its own target to $45 from $47. Cisco was maintained with a Buy rating at UBS, though the firm cut its target to $54 from $58.
Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $54 from $46 at UBS. Shares closed up 15% at $48.38 after earnings.
Embraer S.A. (NYSE: ERJ) was maintained as Buy and the target price was lowered to $21 from $23 (versus a $16.53 close) at UBS.
GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: GWPH) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the first FDA-approved cannabis drug is on its way to blockbuster status with triple-digit sales growth. Shares most recently closed at $111.03, with a consensus price target of $206.93.
Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ: KHC) was downgraded to Sell from an already cautious Neutral rating at Goldman Sachs. The $29 price target compares with a $33.30 prior close (after a 1% gain), but Kraft Heinz shares were last seen down 3.4% at $32.17 after the call.
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA) was reiterated as Outperform at Credit Suisse, and the firm continues to prefer the stock as its favorite broker/advisory stock.
NetGear Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the Zacks Rank marked this a Strong Sell in August and recent results confirm. Shares last closed at $27.14, with a consensus price target of $35.00.
New Residential Investment Corp. (NYSE: NRZ) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight with a $16 price target (versus a $16.05 close) at Piper Jaffray. It has a 12% yield and a consensus target price of $17.90.
Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) was reiterated as Neutral and its target price was lowered to $56 from $57 (versus a $54.67 close) at UBS.
Ping Identity Holding Corp. (NYSE: PING) was reiterated as Buy and the price objective was raised to $24 from $21 (versus a $16.51 close) at Merrill Lynch.
Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SBH) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and its price target was lowered to $12.50 from $15.00 at D.A. Davidson.
SmileDirectClub Inc. (NASDAQ: SDC) was down 20.3% at $8.83 on Wednesday’s post-earnings reaction. UBS maintained its Buy rating but lowered its target price to $18 from $24.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) was maintained as Buy and the target price was trimmed to $46 from $47 at UBS. The stock closed down 2.8% at $31.35 on Wednesday, and its prior consensus target price was $33.50.
StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE) was started with an In-Line rating and a $36 target price (versus a $35.99 close) at Evercore ISI Group.
T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $86 price target (versus a $77.97 close) at HSBC.
United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) was reiterated as Sell and its target price was lowered to $7 from $9 at UBS. Shares closed down 2.26% at $13.42 ahead of this call, and the consensus target price was $10.00. The 52-week trading range is $9.93 to $28.06.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $65 target price at HSBC. Verizon closed at $59.41 and was indicated down 0.3% at $59.20 on Thursday.
Merrill Lynch analysts have noted a strong correlation between the ISM index going higher and larger small-cap companies outperforming. Five companies on their list could be solid 2020 winners if the index does indeed rebound.
Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AECOM, Albermarle, Apple, Chesapeake Energy, Foot Locker, Gap, GoPro, Nike, Qualcomm, Southwest Airlines, Under Armour, Wayfair and many more.
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