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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AbbVie, Apple, Arconic, CenturyLink, eHealth, Nvidia, Salesforce, Tesla, Teva and More

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Stocks were close to all-time highs last Friday ahead of the three-day weekend, despite the coronavirus news getting worse, but the news from Apple has sent the stock indexes lower on Tuesday over stronger concerns about supply chain woes from China. Despite the indexes being more volatile into 2020, and despite the pressure of what will be a very difficult election cycle the rest of this year, many investors have yet to make any major changes to their holdings after the incredible gains from 2019.

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 18, 2020.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was reiterated as Outperform and its target was raised to $105 from $98 at Cowen. AbbVie closed down over 1.3% at $94.05 ahead of the call, with a $100.42 consensus target price.

Amarin Corp. PLC (NASDAQ: AMRN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, but the firm lowered its target price to $24 from $27 (versus a $17.62 prior close). It had a $30.20 consensus target price.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen.

American Outdoor Brands Corp. (NASDAQ: AOBC) was reiterated as Neutral at Wedbush Securities, but the firm did raise its target price to $12 from $10 (versus a $10.21 close), based on a strengthening firearm demand environment.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was indicated down 2.5% at $316.80 after warning that the coronavirus outbreak in China has hurt its local sales and will have an impact on its supply chain that will act as a drag on other sales outside of China. Wedbush reiterated Apple as Outperform with the same $400 target price. Nomura/Instinet also reiterated its Neutral rating and $295 target price.

Arconic Inc. (NYSE: ARNC) was raised to Buy from Hold and was given a $38 target price (versus a $33.36 close) at Argus. The shares have a $36.40 consensus target price.

CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $10 target price at MoffattNathanson. Shares closed up 0.1% at $13.90 ahead of the call but were indicated down over 2% at $13.60 ahead of Tuesday’s open.

Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE: D) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $90 from $85 (versus an $87.46 close) at Credit Suisse.

Eidos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: EIDX) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) was reiterated as Buy with a $200 price target and was listed as the favorite idea for small-cap growth investors at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and the target price was lowered to $74 from $85 (versus a $73.51 close) at RBC Capital Markets. The stock had an $80 consensus target price and was indicated down 1% at $72.75 on Tuesday morning.

Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NYSE: KOD) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Laboratory Corp. of America (NYSE: LH) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $211 from $189 at Morgan Stanley. LabCorp closed up 0.3% at $195.28 ahead of this call, with a $204.88 consensus target price.


Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that it has become the largest publicly traded company in the United States because of its best-in-class management team. Its shares most recently closed at $185.35, with a consensus price target of $194.19.

Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $325 from $245 at Argus. The stock closed up 1.8% at $277.83, with a $272.10 consensus target price, ahead of the call.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $325 from $245 (versus a $289.79 close) at Argus. Shares closed up 7% at $289.79 ahead of this call in Friday’s strong post-earnings reaction. The stock was indicated down 1.1% at $286.50 on Tuesday, and its consensus target was $295.09.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and the target price was cut to $28 from $32 (versus a $29.07 close) at Goldman Sachs. It had a $39.86 consensus target price ahead of the call, and it was indicated down over 3% at $28.15 ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell.

PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) was reiterated as Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, with the firm noting that its shares remain undervalued and that strategic alternatives may be the key to unlocking shareholder value.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $210 from $195 (versus a $189.95 close) at Cowen. Its shares were indicated down less than 0.25% on Tuesday morning.

Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Service Corp. International (NYSE: SCI) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $54 from $52 (versus a $49.96 close) at Credit Suisse.

Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight and its target price was lowered to $32 from $35 at Morgan Stanley. The stock closed down 0.5% at $39.26 a share on Friday and was indicated down another 2.2% at $38.40 ahead of Tuesday’s open.

Tailored Brands Inc. (NYSE: TLRD) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the retail apocalypse has claimed another dying brick-and-mortar group. Shares last closed at $3.94 and have a consensus price target of $6.30.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was maintained as Underweight at Morgan Stanley, but the firm raised its target price to $500 from $360 in the call. Bernstein maintained its Market Perform rating but raised its target to $730 from $325. Tesla shares closed down 0.5% at $800.03 on Friday and were indicated to open up over 5% higher at $844.00 on Tuesday morning after the electric carmaker said it has boosted the mileage range on the Model S and Model X cars.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) was reiterated as Buy at Argus, and the independent research firm raised its target price to $15 from $10. Shares closed down almost 3% at $12.22 on Friday and were indicated down less than 1% on Tuesday.

Viela Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: VIE) was started as Buy and a $60 target price at H.C. Wainwright. The stock closed down 1% at $37.51 ahead of this call, with a $40.67 consensus target price.

Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. It closed down 4.2% at $46.57 a share on Friday and was indicated down another 1.2% at $46.00 ahead of Tuesday’s open.

If the potential for huge upside in a biotech play sounds enticing, SunTrust has three top picks rated Buy with gigantic upside to the firm’s designated price targets.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alkermes, Aurora Cannabis, BlackRock, Duke Energy, Nvidia, Ralph Lauren, SunPower, Veeva Systems, Yelp and many more.


 

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