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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AGNC, Altria, BP, Broadcom, Caterpillar, Exxon, FedEx, Hess, Nvidia, Occidental and More

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The stock market surged on Friday and the Federal Reserve took unprecedented action on Sunday by conducting an emergency rate cut, but futures were locked limit down on Monday at 5%. The coronavirus spread, the run on the stores for general supplies and the general market malaise had the S&P and Dow ETFs down almost 10%.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day to find new ideas for investors and traders. Some calls cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or avoid. Many analysts have so far maintained positive ratings on the top companies, but price targets are starting to come down to reflect the new lower prices.

Investors should always use research calls as just one tool rather than as a sole source for an investment decision. We have included brief data on each call, and consensus target prices come from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst calls for Friday, March 13, 2020.

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $19 target price (versus a $12.01 prior close) at Nomura/Instinet.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $49 target price at Morgan Stanley.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $1,120 target price (versus a $1,012.73 close) at Wedbush Securities.

Avaya Holdings Corp. (NYSE: AVYA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight but its target price was lowered to $12 from $15 (versus a $9.87 close) at Morgan Stanley.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $330 target price (versus a $234.22 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was raised to Buy from Hold but the target price was lowered to $137 from $140 (versus a $99.64 close) at Stifel.

CommScope Holding Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: COMM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its target price was slashed to $7 from $16 (versus a $7.20 close) at Citigroup.

Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was raised to Hold from Sell with a $74 target price (versus a $74.70 close) at Loop Capital.

Domtar Corp. (NYSE: UFS) was downgraded to Underweight from Buy and the price objective was put at $22 (versus a $27.39 close) at BofA Securities.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform and its target price was slashed to $40 from $55 at RBC Capital Markets.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was maintained as Overweight but the target price was cut to $145 from $180 (versus a $106.63 close) at Stephens.

GoPro Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and the target price was cut to $2.50 from $4.50 (versus a $2.72 close) at Citigroup.


Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform and the target price was slashed to $17 from $36 at RBC Capital Markets.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and its target price was lowered to $47 from $70 (versus a $34.92 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and its target price was cut to $7 from $14 (versus a $9.86 close) at Citigroup.

HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HSBC) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Citigroup.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this company has double-digit growth returns in gaming and data centers. Shares most recently closed at $240.93, with a consensus price target of $303.15.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley, and Jefferies downgraded it to Underperform from Hold.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: SIX) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock again. The firm said that the pandemic may have put the nails in the coffin for Six Flags. Shares last closed at $16.91 and have a consensus price target of $33.27.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $145 target price (versus a $127.95 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Western Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: WES) was raised to Buy from Neutral but its target price was slashed to $8 from $21 (versus a $5.80 close) at UBS.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amazon.com, Adobe, Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, BlackRock, Broadcom, Caterpillar, Deere, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Oracle, Slack Technologies and many more.

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