Stocks have soared in the past three days. Some reports even touted that the markets may not be in bear territory from their peak, but that’s without considering how bad the recessionary data is looking. Friday’s indexes were lower as the rally was the strongest three-day gain since the 1930s. The rally has been prevalent even as jobless claims nearly hit 3.3 million for an exponentially high record, mostly on hopes that the worse the data, the stronger the economic sustainability and rescue package(s) will be ahead.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. The goal is to find new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some of these analyst calls cover stocks to buy and others cover stocks to sell or avoid. Analysts have been handily knocking down their target prices to deal with a new recessionary environment, but we are still seeing many traditional upgrades and reiterations as if things haven’t really been turned upside-down.

Consensus analyst target prices are from Refinitiv. Remember, no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

These are the top analyst calls tracked for Friday, March 27, 2020.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg.

Baker Hughes Co. (NYSE: BKR) was maintained as Outperform but its target price was cut to $19 from $23 (versus a $12.40 prior close, after a 6.7% gain) at RBC Capital Markets.

Brooks Automation Inc. (NASDAQ: BRKS) was reiterated as Buy with a $56 target price (versus a $30.78 close) at Janney, which noted that the company has a very strong balance sheet for life science M&A opportunities in tough times.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was maintained as Overweight and its target price was cut to $790 from $960 (versus a $661.10 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) was maintained as Buy but its target price was cut to $80 from $90 (versus a $52.00 close) at Needham.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was raised to Buy from Hold at both SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Stifel.

Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock yet again. The firm said that Darden is in the direct line of fire from this pandemic. Shares last closed at $60.56 and have a consensus price target of $72.00.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was raised to Neutral from Underweight with a $140 target price at JPMorgan. Deere closed up over 8% at $139.09 and previously had a $179.82 target price.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that while most elective procedures are being deferred, the innovator of minimally-invasive heart valve replacement beats on. Shares most recently closed at $199.44, with a consensus price target of $261.10.

GameStop Inc. (NYSE: GME) was maintained as Neutral with a $4.26 target price (versus a $4.41 close) at Wedbush Securities.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Handler.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) closed down 2% ahead of earnings but was up 5% at $20.00 afterward despite withdrawing guidance, and these shares are down from a year high of $40.51. Wedbush maintained it as Neutral and cut its target price to $24 from $237.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was up 3.7% at $200.80 on Thursday before earnings and was down over 3% at $194.50 after earnings. B. Riley FBR maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target to $210 from $205. RBC Capital Markets reiterated it as Outperform and raised the target price to $225 from $195, while Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $225 from $200.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) was maintained as Overweight and its target price was cut to $200 from $235 (versus a $167.35 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) remains the top cloud pick at Wedbush, which noted that M&A is set to accelerate in the sector. While Microsoft has roughly one-third of its revenue exposed to PCs and the supply chain (why it removed guidance), the vast majority of its revenue and 80% to 90% of its valuation is based on its flagship Azure, Office 365 and core enterprise-driven franchise, according to the report.

Mylan N.V. (NASDAQ: MYL) was maintained as Outperform but its target price was cut to $26 from $27 at RBC Capital Markets. Shares previously closed up 4% at $15.54, and the consensus target price was $23.93.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler.

National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE: NNN) was raised to Buy from Neutral but its target price was cut to $47 from $60 (versus a $35.52 close) at B. Riley FBR. The stock is down from a high of $59.26, and its consensus target price was still seen at $57.08.

Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $20 from $15 (versus a $12.74 close) at B. Riley FBR.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the target price was raised to $144 from $138 at Credit Suisse.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was maintained as Outperform but its target price was cut to $44 from $46 at RBC Capital Markets. Pfizer previously closed up 6.7% at $31.75, and its consensus target price was $42.07.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was raised to Buy from Hold but the target was cut to $117 from $119 at Stifel.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) was maintained as Buy and its target price was cut to $148 from $156 (versus a $92.48 close) at B. Riley FBR. Also, Scotia raised it to Sector Perform from Underperform.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the target price was slashed to $17 from $43 at Piper Sandler.

Slack Technologies Inc. (NYSE: WORK) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $28 from $23 at RBC Capital Markets. Shares had closed up 10% at $28.48, and the consensus target price was $24.63.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was maintained as Overweight and its target price was cut to $66 from $91 (versus a $56.03 close) at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was maintained as Overweight and the target price was cut to $80 from $105 at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $9 target price at Raymond James.

Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) was maintained as Outperform but the target price was cut to $73 from $79 at Wedbush, but the firm still added its shares to the Best Ideas List, even as it lowered 2020 earnings estimates to $1.63 from $2.75 per share.

UGI Corp. (NYSE: UGI) was reiterated as Buy with a $53 target price (versus a $26.25 close) at Janney, which noted that the dramatic pullback in the utilities stocks has been sharp.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg.

Jefferies has upgraded the top refinery players as their shares are down 50% or more.

Did homebuilder stocks try to bottom even before the blows of the recession were seen?

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alibaba, Apple, AT&T, Baidu, Chevron, Cisco Systems, Expedia, Goldman Sachs, Kroger, Micron Technology, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Square, Walmart and many more.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.