Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alphabet, Apple, AT&T, Biogen, CSX, Dow, Facebook, Penn, McDonald's, Microsoft, Tesla and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: January 30, 2020 9:15 am

Last Updated: January 31, 2020 8:11 am

Stocks managed to hold some of their gains on Wednesday, but more suspected cases of coronavirus and more deaths reported have stocks weaker on Thursday, even as U.S. gross domestic product for the fourth quarter came out at 2.1%. While volatility can scare even the most confident investors, it is important to keep in mind that stocks were just at all-time highs a few days ago.

Many investors still have not made portfolio changes since the very strong market in 2019. This is also an election year in which much is at stake, and strategists overall are calling for single-digit percentage gains in 2020.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding 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 and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Thursday, January 30, 2020.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $1,625 from $1,500 at Wedbush Securities in a call right before earnings. Alphabet closed up 0.4% at $1,456.70 ahead of earnings but the shares were indicated down 1.5% at $1,435.00 on Thursday. It had a $1,536.07 consensus target price.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $355 from $290 at DZ Bank. Shares previously closed up over 2% at $324.34 after earnings and after multiple price target hikes after the call. Apple was still indicated down 1.3% at $320.00 on Thursday morning.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the target price was lowered to $39 from $42 at UBS. Shares previously closed down by almost 4% at $37.05 after earnings, in a 52-week range of $28.92 to $39.70. The consensus analyst target is $39.50.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was up 0.2% at $282.52 ahead of earnings and was indicated up 2% at $288.12 afterward. Wedbush maintained its Neutral rating and $283 target price as it still sees concerns ahead.

CSX Corp. (NASDAQ: CSX) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that coal is still a headwind for this east coast railroad. Its shares last closed at $77.53, with a consensus price target of $77.76.

Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its target price was lowered to $120 from $140 (versus a $109.55 close) at Goldman Sachs. It had a $129.57 consensus target price, and its shares were indicated down almost 3% at $106.50 on Thursday morning.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and the target price was lowered to $54 from $59 (versus a $49.67 close, after a 5.3% gain) at RBC Capital Markets. The stock was indicated down over 1% at $49.000, and its consensus target price was $55.76.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was up 2.5% at $223.23 ahead of earnings, but the post-earnings reaction was down 7.7% at $206.07 on Thursday morning’s post-earnings reaction. Its 52-week high is $224.20, and the consensus target price was $247.75. UBS maintained its Buy rating but trimmed its target price to $246 from $250, and RBC Capital Markets maintained its Outperform rating but cut its target to $255 from $270.

Also on Facebook, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $265 from $250, and Susquehanna reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $285 from $245. Pivotal Research downgraded Facebook to Hold from Buy and lowered its target price to $215 from $245. Merrill Lynch kept its Buy rating but trimmed its price objective to $250 from $260.

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Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) was down 0.3% at $313.30 ahead of earnings but the reaction had shares indicated down about 5.5% at $296.00 afterward. Wells Fargo reiterated it as Underweight and lowered its target price to $290 from $300. Its prior consensus target price was $347.56.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was down 1.1% at $298.22 ahead of earnings but was indicated over 6% at $317.00 after earnings. Susquehanna raised it to Positive from Neutral with a $400 target price. RBC Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target to $350 from $273. The consensus target price was $296.32, and the 52-week high is $316.73.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) was reiterated as Buy and with a $250 target price at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. RBC Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target price to $235 from $218, and BMO Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target price to $235 from $225. Deutsche Bank reiterated McDonald’s as Hold but raised its target price to $199 from $193, and Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price objective to $240 from $230.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was up 1.5% at $168.04 ahead of earnings, and the stock was last seen up over 3.5% at $174.00 in the post-earnings reaction. Microsoft’s prior all-time high was $168.74, and the consensus target price was $174.56. Wedbush reiterated it as Outperform and raised the price target to $210 from $195. Mizuho reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $195 from $180, and Stifel reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $200 from $175. UBS reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $200 from $162. Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price from $155 to $175.

Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) was up 10.7% to $29.02 on Thursday after announcing an investment into and a partnership with Barstool Sports for sports betting. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reiterated its Buy rating with a $31 target price.

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. (NASDAQ: SFM) closed down almost 4% at $15.71 on Wednesday and was indicated down 1.3% at $15.51 on Thursday. UBS downgraded it to Neutral and lowered its target price to $17 from $23.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was up 2.5% at $580.99 ahead of earnings and was last seen up over 9% at $636.50 for another all-time high. Deutsche Bank maintained its Hold rating but raised its target to $510 from $450, and Robert W. Baird maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target to $650 from $525. Piper Sandler reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target price to $729 from $553. Roth Capital maintained its Sell rating but raised its target price from $250 to $350.

UniFirst Corp. (NYSE: UNF) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that in a hot job market, many people wear uniforms. The shares most recently closed at $206.16 and have a consensus price target of $234.00.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Acceleron Pharma, Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Hasbro, 3M, Peloton, Starbucks, Tesla, Xilinx and many others.