Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Baidu, Cerner, Duke Energy, Hertz, JD.com, Luckin Coffee, Macy's, Teladoc, Uber, Waste Management and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: November 22, 2019 9:01 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 12:52 pm

Stocks have pulled back from their all-time highs this week as the U.S.-China trade war resolution may have run into more snags. Stocks were indicated to open higher on Friday, but the direction of the day seemed far from certain. Investors are starting to see upside targets issued for 2020, but many pressing issues and risks remain 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 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 sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations for Thursday, November 21, 2019.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) was started as Neutral with a $134 target price (versus a $115.65 prior close) at Macquarie.

Baudax Bio (NASDAQ: BXRX) was started as Buy with a $12 target price (versus a $4.51 close) at Janney. The company was said to have Anjeso (IV meloxicam) heading toward the FDA finish line, with an approval likely in the first quarter of 2020.

Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: BHVN) was started as Outperform with a $75 target price (versus a $52.70 close) at Wedbush Securities, with the firm talking up its views on its migraine treatment’s efficacy and also expanding the number of migraine patients treated with preventive therapies.

Celsius Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CELH) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this low dollar stock is finding a lot of thirsty investors who are looking for growth. The shares most recently closed at $4.57, with a consensus price target of $10.00.

Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) was started as Outperform with an $80 target price (versus a $68.47 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Chuy’s Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUY) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was increased to $32 from $24.50 (versus a $26.73 close) at Wedbush.

Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) was started as Underperform with a $75 target price (versus an $84.66 close) at Jefferies.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) was raised to Buy from Sell and the price target was raised to $93 from $88 (versus an $86.66 close) at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target price was $96.80 ahead of the call.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) was started as Hold with a $17 target price (versus a $15.37 close) at Jefferies.

H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) was started as Hold with a $28 target price (versus a $24.34 close) at Jefferies.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target price was raised to $155 from $137 (versus a $136.88 close) at Citigroup.

JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ: JD) was started as Neutral with a $26 target price (versus a $32.17 close) at Macquarie.

24/7 Wall St.
Why UBS Is Now So Against Semiconductor Capex Stocks

Kemet Corp. (NYSE: KEM) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this stock is being bought out, but a guide lower has sent the Zacks rank down to the lowest level. Shares last closed at $26.58 but have a consensus price target of just $25.40.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was raised to In-Line from Underperform at Evercore ISI. Shares closed up 10.1% at $17.17 on Thursday and were indicated up another 1% at $17.35 on Friday. Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal Weight rating and lowered its target to $17 from $18. Its prior consensus target price was $21.33, and its 52-week trading range is $15.80 to $34.89.

Luckin Coffee Inc. (NYSE: LK) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $32 from $24 (versus a $27.95 close, after a 6.3% gain) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. It has a post-IPO trading range of $13.71 to $30.33, and its consensus target price was $26.23.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) was down 2.3% at $14.67 after earnings on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated its Underweight rating and lowered its price target from $17 to $14.

Manpower Group Inc. (NYSE: MAN) was started as Hold with a $96 target price (versus a $91.98 close) at Jefferies.

Pure Storage Inc. (NYSE: PSTG) was maintained as Overweight but the target price was lowered to $20 from $22 (versus a $19.85 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. Raymond James maintained its Outperform rating but lowered its target price from $22 to $21.

Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) was started with a Buy rating and a $100 target price (versus an $86.75 close) at Jefferies.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $150 from $142 at Barclays. Wells Fargo reiterated it as Outperform and raised the price target to $175 from $165, and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reiterated it as Buy and raised the price target to $175 from $160. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and $162 target. Shares were indicated up 7.2% at $136.00 in its post-earnings reaction on Friday morning.

Stericycle Inc. (NASDAQ: SRCL) was started with an Outperform rating and a $75 target price (versus a $62.47 close) at RBC Capital Markets. It had a consensus target price of $58.80 ahead of this call.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) was started as Outperform with a $100 target price (versus a $77.50 close) at RBC Capital Markets. Its $82.74 consensus target price is within its 52-week trading range is $42.08 to $82.86.

Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $32 from $24 at Stifel. The stock closed up 5.1% at $29.46 on Thursday and was indicated up 2.2% at $30.10 on Friday. Its consensus target price was $45.00.

Verisk Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) was started with a Buy rating and a $174 target price (versus a $144.45 close) at Jefferies.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) was started with a Hold rating and a $120 target price (versus a $111.21 close) at Jefferies.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Applied Materials, Carnival, Dell, Karuna Therapeutics, Lowe’s, Noble Energy, PayPal, Square, Target, Virgin Galactic and many more.