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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Albermarle, AEP, Autodesk, Chewy, Domino's, HollyFrontier, Livent, NextEra, RealReal, Square, T-Mobile and Many More

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Stocks took a breather on Thursday, although the mid-morning selling felt like a major newsbreak sent shares down sharply that was a multitude of reasons (or excuses). Stocks were indicated to open lower on Friday morning as well. The market is still very close to all-time highs, but there is still much uncertainty and many ongoing and unresolved developments that investors will 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. 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 others 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 other ratings changes seen for Friday, February 21, 2020.

Adesto Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: IOTS) closed up over 54.5% at $12.35 after Dialog Semiconductor announced it was acquiring the company. B. Riley FBR downgraded it to Neutral from Buy.

Albermarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB) closed up 5.5% at $94.31 in Thursday’s post-earnings reaction. Wells Fargo maintained it as Equal Weight but lifted its target price to $105 from $80.

American Electric Power Co. (NYSE: AEP) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $115 from $104 at Wells Fargo. UBS reiterated it as Buy and raised its target to $116 from $114.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $250 from $210 (versus a $206.67 prior close) at Citigroup.

Black Stone Minerals L.P. (NYSE: BSM) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler.

Chewy Inc. (NYSE: CHWY) was indicated up almost 5% at $30.69 on Friday morning. RBC Capital Markets raised its rating to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $38 target price. The consensus target price was $35.91 ahead of that call.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) was up over 25% at $373.16 on Thursday’s post-earnings reaction. Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price to $400 from $320. Wedbush Securities reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target to $410 from $310. Stifel downgraded it Hold from Buy while raising its target price to $365 from $325.

Editas Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ: EDIT) was started with an Equal Weight rating at Wells Fargo.

E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) surged on news that Morgan Stanley is acquiring it for $13 billion. JMP Securities downgraded it to Market Perform from Market Outperform as the upside has been seen.

Everi Holdings Inc. (NYSE: EVRI) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this company has been building a ton of momentum. Shares recently closed at $14.46 and have a consensus price target of $15.86.

Franklin Electric Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: FELE) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that utilities have done well but that does not mean the rally will last forever. The shares last closed at $59.71, with a consensus price target of $52.00.

HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan, and RBC Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform rating while trimming its target to $56 from $59.


L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) closed down 3.6% at $23.42 on Thursday even after selling off Victoria’s Secret. Evercore ISI raised it to Outperform from In-Line and raised its target price to $24 from $19.

Livent Corp. (NYSE: LTHM) was up 3.8% at $11.86 on Thursday but the stock traded down 18% at $9.70 on Friday after its adjusted profit and sales missed expectations. BMO Capital Markets downgraded it to Underperform from Market Perform with a $7.50 target price.

Mednax Inc. (NYSE: MD) was down over 21% at $20.96 on Thursday after UnitedHealth reportedly is not renewing with the company. Citigroup downgraded it to Neutral from Buy and slashed the target price to $23 from $29.

NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE) closed up almost 1% at $277.03 on Thursday. UBS reiterated it as Buy and raised its target to $310 from $300.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) was maintained as Outperform but the target price was lowered to $60 from $65 (versus a $48.51 close) at Wedbush. The firm noted that the coronavirus fallout was much larger than expected given an abundance of caution.

Oil States International Inc. (NYSE: OIL) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.

RealReal Inc. (NASDAQ: REAL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the target price was set at $21 at Raymond James. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating. Shares closed up about 0.5% at $15.60 ahead of the call, with a $26.36 consensus target price, but they were indicated up 2.8% at $16.05 on Friday morning.

Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE: SHAK) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the target price was lowered to $79 from $82 (versus a $76.64 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The call is ahead of earnings with limited visibility on positive same-store sales data.

Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE: SIX) was maintained as Neutral at Wedbush, but the firm lowered its target for the third time in a year to $31 from $34. KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained its Overweight rating but lowered its target to $45 from $50. It previously closed down over 16% at $31.89 after earnings and its dividend cut.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $99 from $80 at Citigroup.

Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) closed up 2% at $66.35 ahead of earnings and was indicated up 7% at $71.00 afterward. Raymond James reiterated it as Strong Buy and raised its target to $75 from $72. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target price up to $79 from $74.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James, but the firm lifted its target price to $107 from $99. T-Mobile closed down about 1% at $99.50 ahead of the call and was indicated down over 1% at $98.40 afterward.

TrueCar Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE) closed at $3.91 ahead of earnings but a wider loss had shares indicated down about 27% at $2.85 on Friday morning. Stephens maintained it as Overweight but halved its target price from $8 to $4. RBC Capital Markets maintained its Sector Perform rating but cut its target to $3.50 from $5.00.

Warrior Met Coal Inc. (NYSE: HCC) closed down 12.2% at $17.71 on Thursday. Benchmark started coverage with a Hold rating.

Merrill Lynch has five IPOs from 2019 that it believes have significant upside at this time, and some are rather famous names.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, American Electric Power, Analog Devices, CenturyLink, Dish Network, Herbalife, NextEra Energy, NRG Energy, On Semiconductor, SolarEdge Technologies and many more.

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