The futures traded much lower Friday morning as investors digested another wild and woolly week on Wall Street. The positive January employment numbers should help to backstop the end of the week trading. All-time highs have come back into focus, as China lowered tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods. The coronavirus cases keep rising (over 28,250 cases and 565 deaths in China), but there is some growing hope that a vaccine or treatment may be available in a few months.
With global gross domestic product weighed on by China weakness, there is still much uncertainty and many ongoing and unresolved developments that investors have to digest in 2020. Many investors still have not made some of their normal portfolio changes this year either.
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 were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen for Friday, February 7, 2020.
AmerisourceBergen Inc. (NYSE: ABC) was raised to Outperform at Baird, where the analysts have a $112 price target. That compares with the Wall Street consensus target of $96.27. The stock closed trading om Thursday at $92.48.
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Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: APAM) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that, with the market pushing up to new heights, asset managers have been living on easy street. Shares most recently closed at $36.20 with a consensus price target of $34.33.
Becton Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James, where the analysts have set a $283 price objective. That compares with a consensus target that is right in line at $284.36. The stock closed Thursday at $252.25, down almost 12% on the day despite topping analysts’ estimates.
Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT) was upgraded to a Buy rating from Neutral at UBS, which also raised the price target to the $52 level. That compares to the consensus target of $50.63. The stock was last seen trading at $42.34.
Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE: CAH) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $68 price objective at Baird. That compares with the $54.93consensus target. The shares closed Thursday at $58.26, up almost 11% on the day on strong earnings and revenue growth. The shares were up another 1% in Friday’s premarket.
Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which raised the price target for the pizza restaurant giant to $320. The consensus target is $298.86, and the stock ended Thursday at $279.41.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said trade war headwinds have given way to a new scapegoat, the coronavirus. Shares last closed at $148.63 and have a consensus price target of $170.72.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $9 target at Credit Suisse. Also, DZ Bank lowered it from Buy all the way to Sell. Shares for the automotive giant closed Thursday at $8.25.
Funko Inc. (NASDAQ: FNKO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $10 price target at Stifel. The consensus target is much higher $15.88. Shares ended trading Thursday at $9.29.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was raised to a Hold rating at Gordon Haskett. The 52-week trading range of the beleaguered but seemingly on the path back industrial giant is $7.65 to $13.00. The consensus price target is $12.49. The stock closed at $12.95 on Thursday.
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Grubhub Inc. (NASDAQ: GRUB) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at D.A. Davidson, which has set a $33 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $49.48, and the closing share price on Thursday was $54.62.
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley FBR, which also lowered its price target to $39. The consensus target for the drilling giant is $46.03. The last trade reported Thursday came in at $43.80.
HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HSBC) is raised to Outperform from Neutral at Keefe Bruyette. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $35.35 to $44.93, and the consensus price target for the bank is $40.68. The stock most recently closed at $37.10.
L3Harris Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LHX) was started with a Buy rating with a $280 price target at Benchmark. The consensus target is $254.80. Shares of the defense leader closed Thursday at $225.98.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Cowen. The analysts also set an $18 price target, but the consensus target is much higher at $29.86. The stock closed Thursday at $25.75, but shares were under pressure in the premarket, down over 5% on disappointing results.
Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU) was started with a Hold rating at Benchmark. The stock has traded in a stunning 52-week range of $6.35 to $32.25. The last trade on Thursday was reported at $8.95, down almost 4% on the day.
Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan, which also pushed the price target to the $73 level. The posted consensus target is $67.33. The stock closed Thursday at $70.10, but the shares are up almost 14% in the premarket as the company posted strong results after Thursday’s close.
Twitter Inc. (NASDAQ: TWTR) was raised to Positive from Neutral with a $47 price target at Susquehanna, which compares to a $34.47 consensus price objective. The stock had a big move this week after posting very impressive results and user numbers. Guggenheim downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy but kept a $36 price target. The stock closed Thursday at $38.41, up a massive 15% on the day.
Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) was raised to Buy from Hold at Lake Street. The ride-sharing leader has traded between $25.58 and $47.08 over the past 52 weeks. The consensus price target for the shares is $45.08. The last print Thursday came in at $37.09, but shares are up almost 6% in the premarket on positive numbers and forward forecasts.
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG Research. The restaurant leader’s shares have traded between $92.02 and $119.72 over the past 52 weeks, and the stock was last seen on Thursday at $103.74, down almost 3% on weakness at the Pizza Hut group.
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Also note that Merrill Lynch has five Buy-rated tech stocks that pay large dividends.
And see why 2020 could be a comeback year for CSX stock and how long investors should be patient with Lyft stock.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AbbVie, Biogen, Boeing, Etsy, Gilead Sciences, GoPro, Micron Technology, Newmont, Peloton Interactive, Pfizer, Valero Energy, Zynga and many more.
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