Stocks rose strongly on the first trading day of 2020, with a 1.1% gain on the Dow Jones industrial average and a 0.8% gain in the S&P 500, and that is after gains of more than 28% for the S&P 500 in 2019. The second trading day is seeing oil higher and stocks lower based on a U.S. airstrike successfully targeting a top Iranian general in Iraq. For those who did not make all of their portfolio shifts and changes in 2019, now is the time to be reconsidering how to be positioned for 2020. We have stocks effectively at all-time highs, as trade tensions are abating and global growth may see a rekindled strength, but we also have an election year where much is at stake. Strategists by and large are calling for single-digit percentage gains in 2020.

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 analyst calls in a quick-hit summary for easy reading, and additional comments and trading data have been added on many of the calls. The consensus analyst price targets mentioned and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv sell-side research service.

Most research departments generally hold off on their flood of new analyst calls until the first full trading week of the year, so analyst calls are still looking a tad on the light side. These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from January 3, 2020.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that growth peaks of the past will take time to recover as analog solutions in a digital world evolve. Shares last closed at $120.43 and have a consensus price target of $124.71.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Outperform and its target was raised to $330 from $295 at RBC Capital Markets. Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating on Apple and raised its price objective to $330 from $290.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $37 target price at BMO Capital.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $1,010 from $890 at BTIG.

Choice Hotels International Inc. (NYSE: CHH) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo.

Cogent Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CCOI) was raised to Neutral from Sell and its target price was raised to $68 from $53 (versus a $65.50 prior close) at Citigroup.

Endo International PLC (NASDAQ: ENDP) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral and the target price was raised to $7 from $5 (versus a $4.50 close, after a 4% drop) at Piper Jaffray.

Extended Stay America Inc. (NASDAQ: STAY) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $14 from $13 (versus a $12.78 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) was reiterated as Buy with a $425 target price (versus a $363.24 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ: INCY) closed down 1.5% at $85.97 on Thursday but was indicated down 10.7% at $76.77 early on Friday after its graft vs. host disease treatment did not meet its primary endpoint. Mizuho downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy with a $79 target price. BMO Capital maintained its Market Perform rating and lowered its target to $74 from $85. Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its Neutral rating and lowered its target to $65 from $75. Credit Suisse maintained its Neutral rating and cut its target from $90 to $86.

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and its target price was lowered to $19 from $22 at RBC Capital Markets.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch. After a 3.5% drop to $17.49 on Thursday, it was indicated up almost 3% at $18.00 on Friday. The prior consensus target was $19.88.

LogMeIn Inc. (NASDAQ: LOGM) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets after the firm noted it likely will not see a rival higher bid for the company.

Mednax Inc. (NYSE: MD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $29 target price (versus a $27.49 close) at Citigroup.

NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE) was reiterated as Outperform and its target was raised to $250 from $242 (versus a $238.62 close, after a 1.5% drop) at Credit Suisse.

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that defense spending is an incredible driver of revenues at this top-shelf contractor. Shares most recently closed at $355.70, with a consensus price target of $397.06.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $75 from $67 (versus a $62.80 close) at BTIG.

Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight with an $80 target price at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the target price was raised to $105 from $88 (versus an $84.74 close) at Wedbush Securities.

Many energy stocks are on the rise after the U.S. conducted a successful airstrike against one of Iran’s top generals in Iraq, but the team at Stifel believes that the battered oilfield services stocks could be big winners in 2020.

Merrill Lynch has five top dividend picks for 2020. The firm also released its 11 best ideas for 2020 at years-end.

Top analyst upgrades and downgrades for the first trading day of 2020 included Abbott Laboratories, Advanced Micro Devices, Analog Devices, Applied Materials, Ford, Illumina, Medtronic, Tesla, Wells Fargo and more. The top analyst upgrades and downgrades on the final trading days of 2019 included Activision Blizzard, Amazon.com, Apple, Boeing, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Lennar, Nio, Nvidia, Tesla and more.

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