Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apache, Broadcom, Caterpillar, Dollar General, Microsoft, NXP, Salesforce, Sirius, Slack, Yelp and More

Investing

Published: March 31, 2020 8:56 am

Last Updated: March 31, 2020 9:02 am

Stocks rallied again on Monday after varying updates on vaccines and treatments for the COVID-19 pandemic, but stocks were indicated to open lower by about 1.2% on the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 on Tuesday. Many investors are looking for direction, with all of the recent volatility and with the raging bull market turning into a roaring bear market in one month. Meanwhile, most of the bad recession data in the formal economic reports has not even been seen yet.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal to find new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some of these analyst calls cover stocks to buy and other calls 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 Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) was maintained as Overweight but the price target was lowered to $350 from $355 (versus a $318.39 prior close) at Piper Sandler.

Amarin Corp. PLC (NASDAQ: AMRN) lost its heart drug patent and its shares were last seen trading down 69% at $4.22, after a $13.58 close on Monday. The shares were already down from a 52-week high of $26.12, and the consensus target price had been $28.36. Goldman Sachs downgraded Amarin to Neutral from Buy but slashed its target price to $4 from $27.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) was maintained as Overweight but the target price was lowered to $120 from $145 (versus a $90.97 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Antero Resources Corp. (NYSE: AR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) was raised to Neutral from Sell but the price target was slashed to $4.50 from $22 at UBS. The stock closed down 15.4% at $4.11 on Monday, with a $15.09 consensus price target.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) was started with a Buy rating and a $95 price target (versus a $42.12 close) at Guggenheim.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was maintained as Overweight but the target price was raised to $290 from $240 (versus a $240.11 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was maintained as Buy at Citigroup but the price target was cut to $125 from $130. Caterpillar closed up almost 6% at $111.71 on Monday, and its consensus target price was $133.75.

Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that bulls might be left out in the cold on this stock. Shares last closed at $70.92 and have a consensus price target of $91.70.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was maintained as Buy at Citigroup, but the price target was cut to $160 from $165. Shares closed up 5.1% at $141.23 on Monday, and the consensus target price was $175.12.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $175 price target at Wells Fargo.

EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Stifel.

eXp World Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPI) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that patient investors have a chance at a real home run here. Shares most recently closed at $8.25, with a consensus price target of $16.50.

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Gulfport Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: GPOR) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at Stifel.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) was maintained as Overweight but the target price was lowered to $85 from $120 (versus a $68.99 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was maintained as Neutral at Citigroup, but the price target was cut to $167 from $170. Piper Sandler maintained its Overweight rating but cut its price target to $192 from $199. Microsoft closed up 7% at $160.23 on Monday, and its consensus target price was $189.69.

National Storage Affiliates (NYSE: NSA) was raised to Hold from Sell at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, as it had significantly underperformed its self-storage peers since mid-January.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was maintained as Overweight but the target price was lowered to $115 from $155 (versus an $84.93 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas.

Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was maintained as Overweight but the price target was lowered to $193 from $205 at Piper Sandler. Shares closed up 2.6% at $149.85, and the prior consensus target price was $198.82.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) was maintained as Neutral at Piper Sandler, but the firm lowered its target price to $335 from $545. Shares closed up 2% at $430.38 ahead of the call, and the consensus target price was $543.60.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $5.90 price target (versus a $4.81 close) at Citigroup. The prior consensus price target was $7.30, and shares are down from a 52-week high of $7.40.

Slack Technologies Inc. (NYSE: WORK) was reiterated as Overweight but the price target was raised to $31 from $24 (versus a $28.21 close) at Piper Sandler.

Teledoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg.

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Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush Securities, but the firm lowered its target price to $21 from $22 (versus a $14.97 close).

Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Stifel.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) was maintained as Neutral at Citigroup, but the firm slashed its target price to $21 from $41 on Tuesday. Shares closed down almost 6% at $17.53 on Monday, with a $33.44 consensus target price.

Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight with a $75 target price at Atlantic Equities.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Amazon.com, Amgen, Cerner, eBay, Gap, Nike, Nucor, Procter & Gamble, TJX, ViacomCBS and many more.

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