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Top Analyst Downgrades and Upgrades: Barclays, CrowdStrike, Edgewell, Facebook, Funko, RingCentral, Rio Tinto, RBS, Salesforce, WWE and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: February 11, 2020 8:55 am

Last Updated: February 12, 2020 8:07 am

Stocks were looking at a stronger open on Tuesday morning after Monday’s gain. The major equity indexes remain close to all-time highs, even as the coronavirus numbers grow. 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, and strategists are largely 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 try 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 and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Tuesday, February 11, 2020.

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) was started with a Neutral rating at Credit Suisse.

Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral and the target price was raised to $525 from $400 at Credit Suisse. Shares closed up almost 3% at $373.86 ahead of the call, with a $401.00 consensus target price.

Callaway Golf Co. (NYSE: ELY) was reiterated as Buy with a $26 target price (versus a $20.60 prior close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Raymond James maintained it as Outperform but lowered the target price to $22 from $24.

CoreSite Realty Corp. (NYSE: COR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target price was raised to $75 from $58 (versus a $63.30 close) at D.A. Davidson.

Edgewell Personal Care Co. (NYSE: EPC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the target price was raised to $43 from $38 at Citigroup. RBC Capital Markets maintained its Outperform rating and lowered its target price to $45 from $50.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was downgraded to Sell from Hold and its target price was lowered to $180 from $215 at Pivotal Research. Facebook closed up 0.3% at $213.06 ahead of the call, but shares were down at $210.93 ahead of the opening bell on Tuesday. The prior consensus target price was $248.81.

FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform and its target price was raised to $75 from $60 (versus a $53.93 close) at Raymond James.

Funko Inc. (NASDAQ: FNKO) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said this toy maker’s fourth-quarter sales warning stunned Wall Street. Shares last closed at $8.58 and have a consensus price target of $12.75.

Gulfport Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: GPOR) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the target price was cut to $2 from $5 (versus a $1.12 close) at Piper Sandler.

HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HSBC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

I-MAB (NASDAQ: IMAB) was started with a Buy rating and a $16 target price (versus an $11.00 close) at Jefferies.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was raised to Neutral from Underperform with a $24 target price (versus a $24.14 close) at Credit Suisse.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE: LYG) was started with a Neutral rating at Credit Suisse.

MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, but the firm did raise its target price to $660 from $645. The stock closed up almost 2% at $658.23 on Monday but was indicated down 4.4% at $629.00 on Tuesday.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that low mortgage rates and a great job market means big earnings growth for this home builder. The shares most recently closed at $46.66, with a consensus price target of $48.20.

Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the target price was lowered to $4.50 from $6.50 at Piper Sandler. The stock previously closed down about 6% at $3.00 a share, with a prior consensus target price of $5.71.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) was up 2.5% to $212.61 on Monday ahead of earnings, and the shares were last seen trading up 4.5% at $222.30 on Tuesday’s post-earnings reaction. Raymond James reiterated its Strong Buy rating and raised the target price to $250 from $195, and Morgan Stanley reiterated it as Equal Weight and raised its target to $205 from $195.

Rio Tinto Group PLC (NYSE: RIO) was downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) was started with an Outperform rating at Credit Suisse.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $225 from $215 at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed up 1.8% at $189.12 on Monday, with a consensus target price of $198.33.

Velocity Financial Inc. (NYSE: VEL) was down 1% at $13.85 as of Monday’s close, with a post-IPO range of $13.17 to $14.29. JMP Securities started it as Market Outperform with a $22 target price, and Raymond James started it as Outperform with a $17 target price. Wells Fargo started it as Overweight with a $19 target price, while Citigroup started it as Buy with an $18 target price.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. Last seen at $42.05, the shares have a 52-week range of $40.24 to $100.45.

Merrill Lynch is very positive on five top big pharmaceutical stocks that have posted solid results for the most recent quarter. All five could be great ideas for reducing portfolio risk for 2020.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AbbVie, Apple, Arch Coal, FedEx, Ford, General Motors, Nvidia, Skyworks Solutions, Stitch Fix, World Wrestling Entertainment and many more.