Stocks closed more than 1.5% lower on Tuesday, and Wednesday’s opening indications called for a drop of more than 3% on the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500. Many investors are now looking for direction, given all the recent volatility. The big bull market turned into a roaring bear market in less than a month, and the Dow looks set to have given back 1,000 points of its recovery in just two trading sessions. Most of the bad recession data in the formal economic reports has not been seen yet.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other analyst reports cover stocks to sell or avoid. Many analysts have been handily lowering their target prices to deal with a new recessionary environment, but there are still many traditional upgrades and reiterations, as if the economy hasn’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 Wednesday, April 1, 2020.
Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) was maintained as Buy and the price target was lowered to $115 from $135 (versus a $91.73 prior close) at CFRA.
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AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE: ABC) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) was raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
Baker Hughes Co. (NYSE: BKR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus. Shares closed down 4.2% at $10.50 ahead of this call, with a consensus target price of $21.42.
Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) was maintained as Buy but the target price was lowered to $75 from $110 (versus a $55.09 close) at Needham.
CenterPoint Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its price target was lowered to $17 from $27 (versus a $15.45 close) at UBS.
CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and its price target was lowered to $7 from $14 (versus a $9.46 close) at Goldman Sachs.
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) was raised to Neutral from Sell but the target price was lowered to $37 from $40 (versus a $49.18 close) at Piper Sandler.
Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that weak guidance and coronavirus-related panic has battered this retail stock. Shares last closed at $16.99 and have a consensus price target of $35.71.
Denny’s Corp. (NASDAQ: DENN) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) was raised to Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral but the price target was cut to $44 from $56 (versus a $34.00 close) at Wedbush Securities.
El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LOCO) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $50 price target (versus a $35.24 close) at Wells Fargo.
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iHeartMedia Inc. (NASDAQ: IHRT) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and its price target was slashed to $8 from $21 (versus a $7.31 close) at JPMorgan.
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and its price target was cut to $0.50 from $3.00 at Goldman Sachs. The stock closed down over 8% at $1.53 ahead of the call and was indicated down over 4% at $1.46 afterward.
Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its price target was lowered to $139 from $147 (versus a $127.18 close) at UBS.
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB) was downgraded Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas.
Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $286 from $264 (versus a $241.56 close) at Stephens.
1-800-Flowers (NASDAQ: FLWS) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that an earnings beat and raised guidance is always a winning combination. Shares most recently closed at $13.23, with a consensus price target of $24.57.
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) was maintained as Buy but that price target was lowered to $215 from $245 (versus a $163.96 close) at Mizuho.
Southwest Gas Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SWX) was raised to Buy from Neutral but its price target was lowered to $78 from $83 (versus a $69.56 close) at UBS. It had an $82.83 prior consensus target price.
Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and its price target was slashed to $150 from $248 (versus a $166.49 close) at Goldman Sachs. It previously had a $221.67 consensus price target.
Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) was maintained as Overweight and the price target was lowered to $100 from $110 (versus an $84.55 close) at Stephens.
U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a $57 price target (versus a $34.45 close) at Oppenheimer. The prior consensus price target was $51.78.
Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform but its price target was lowered to $9.50 from $12.00 (versus an $8.29 close) at BMO Capital Markets.
Varian Medical Systems Inc. (NYSE: VAR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its price target was cut to $114 from $171 (versus a $102.66 close) at Goldman Sachs. It previously had a $153.86 consensus price target.
VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC) was started as Market Perform at Raymond James.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was maintained as Overweight and the price target was lowered to $192 from $228 (versus a $161.12 close) at Stephens.
Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) was started as Neutral at D.A. Davidson.
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The Stifel team has scoured the energy wreckage and found six stocks they feel can survive the downturn and perhaps prosper in 2021. All six stocks are raised to Buy from Neutral.
Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apache, Broadcom, Caterpillar, Dollar General, Microsoft, NXP Semiconductors, Salesforce.com, Sirius XM, Slack, Yelp and many more.
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