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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alphabet, American Water, Caterpillar, Cisco, Comcast, Gap, Lululemon, Nike, Slack, Stitch Fix, Tesla, Under Armour and More

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Monday’s stock market rally continued Tuesday morning, with solid gains of more than 1% in the futures market. The number of coronavirus cases and deaths have now risen to more than 20,000 and 400, respectively, and Iowa’s caucus voting has run into an app-performance issue that has prevented the state from being able to declare who won the democrat presidential candidate race there.

Many investors have yet to make any major changes to their holdings after the incredible gains from 2019. This is an election year with much at stake. Strategists largely 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 Tuesday, February 4, 2020.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) closed up 3.5% at $1,482.60 ahead of earnings, but the shares were still down over 3% at $1,435.00 in Tuesday’s post-earnings trading reaction. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reiterated its Buy rating and raised the target price to $1,600 from $1,500. Wedbush Securities reiterated it as Outperform and kept its $1,625 price target, and Raymond James reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target from $1,475 to $1,580. Piper Sandler reiterated it as Overweight and raised its target price was to $1,600 from $1,500. Nomura/Instinet reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $1,680 from $1,560.

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $148 target price at UBS. Shares closed at $136.52 ahead of the call, in a 52-week range of $94.72 to $137.73 and with a $129.60 consensus target price.

ANGI Homeservices Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) was started as Buy with a $12 target price at Benchmark. Shares closed up about 2% at $8.18, in a 52-week range of $6.39 to $18.62. The consensus target price is $11.34.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was maintained as Buy but the target price was lowered to $160 from $170 at Citigroup. Shares closed down 1.2% at $129.77 on Monday but were up 1.7% at $132.00 in early trading indications, and its consensus target price was $147.00.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $52 target price at MoffattNathsonson. Shares closed down 1% at $42.66, in a 52-week range of $36.57 to $47.74. The consensus target price is $51.26.

e.l.f. Beauty Inc. (NYSE: ELF) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $19 target price at Piper Sandler. Shares closed up 4% at $16.30, in a 52-week range of $6.70 to $19.96. The consensus target price is $20.72.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) was started as Market Perform with an $18 target price (versus a $17.45 prior close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU) was started as Overweight with a $7.75 target price at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed flat at $5.89. The 52-week range is $4.11 to $11.75, and the consensus analyst target is $7.40.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was started as Market Perform with a $231 target price (versus a $246.37 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was started as Outperform with a $110 target price (versus a $99.27 close) at BMO Capital Markets. Nike had a $110.91 consensus target price, and its 52-week trading range is $77.07 to $105.62.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) was started as Market Perform with a $39 target price (versus a $37.52 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

NortonLifeLock Inc. (NASDAQ: NLOK) was down almost 40% at $17.15 on Monday, but that drop was actually due to the shares reflecting its massive $12 per share dividend payment. Credit Suisse maintained it as Neutral but adjusted its target price to $14 from $26 to reflect that payout. Mizuho also maintained its Buy rating but adjusted its $30 target price to $19.00 after that dividend.

Red Rock Resorts Inc. (NYSE: RRR) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust. The stock closed up 1.2% at $24.81, with a $25.88 consensus target price.

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $108 from $100 (versus a $92.00 close, after a 6.2% gain) at Raymond James.


Slack Technologies Inc. (NYSE: WORK) was started with an Outperform rating and a $25 target price (versus a $20.98 close) at RBC Capital Markets. Shares closed up 1% at $20.98, in a 52-week range of $19.53 to $42.00. The consensus target price is $27.44.

Stitch Fix Inc. (NASDAQ: SFIX) was started as Market Perform with a $24 target price at BMO Capital Markets. Shares closed up almost 6% at $24.27 on Monday, with a prior consensus target price of $31.08.

Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) was downgraded to Equal Weight and the target price was lowered to $75 from $90 at Wells Fargo. It closed down 6.6% at $76.69 on Monday, with a prior consensus target price of $84.64.

Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. (NASDAQ: TNDM) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird, yet the firm raised its target price to $75 from $71. Shares closed at $75.90, in a 52-week range of $40.46 to $78.41. The consensus target price is $77.75.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at New Street Research, but the firm did keep its prior $800 target price in the valuation downgrade. Tesla shares were up almost 20% to $780.00 on Monday, and they were indicated up at $890.00 or so early on Tuesday.

Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the target price was raised to $74 from $57 (versus a $62.77 close) at Wedbush.

Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) was reiterated as Overweight and its target price was raised to $57 from $55 (versus a $37.59 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA) was started as Market Perform with a $285 target price at BMO Capital Markets.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) started as Underperform with an $18 target price (versus a $20.28 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) was maintained as Buy at Citigroup, but the firm trimmed its target price to $175 from $180.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was started as Market Perform with a $26 target price (versus a $26.23 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: WIX) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this firm has proven an uncanny ability to drive steady and reliable growth globally. Shares most recently closed at $145.21 and have a consensus price target of $156.53.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this stock has long-term potential, but its short-term risks may outweigh the potential at the moment. Shares last closed at $128.58, with a consensus price target of $151.06.

WW International Inc. (NASDAQ: WW) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $48 target price (versus a $26 prior target) at Goldman Sachs.

The analysts at Jefferies are staying with some sizzling tech and momentum plays with fourth-quarter earnings drawing to a close.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Aimmune Therapeutics, Amgen, Biogen, Chevron, CRISPR, Exxon Mobil, Nike, Snap, Uber, Ulta Beauty, Verizon and many more.

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