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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AMC, Amex, Apache, Apple, Beyond Meat, BP, Charles Schwab, CSX, Disney, GM, Pinterest, Wingstop and More
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Stocks tried to gap up on Tuesday after the big gain on Monday, but the indexes closed down on Tuesday. Wednesday’s indications showed futures were trading up just over 1% in early indications. The market went from a raging bull market to a roaring bear market, and now investors and traders have seen the markets recapture much of the losses that were seen in March.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Many upgrades, downgrades, reiterations and initiations take place regardless of the volatile daily market gyrations. Some analyst calls cover stocks to buy while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.
In recent weeks, many analysts have handily lowered their target prices to deal with a new recessionary environment, but there are still many traditional upgrades and reiterations, as if the economy wasn’t really been turned upside-down. Remember, no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.
Consensus analyst target prices are from Refinitiv. These are the top analyst calls tracked for Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: ADS) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Loop Capital.
American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was maintained as Overweight and the price target was cut to $107 from $125 at Wells Fargo.
Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) was maintained as Hold but its price target was slashed to $10 from $22 at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, with the call being around lower capital spending in a very weak environment.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was maintained as Overweight but its price target was lowered to $335 from $350 at JPMorgan, with the firm taking a more harsh view of sales for the June quarter and also the September quarter due to limited customer engagement during the coronavirus outbreak.
AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price objective was lowered to $950 from $1,070 at BofA Securities.
Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) was maintained as Neutral but its price target was lowered to $90 from $118 at Credit Suisse. Shares closed up 2.3% at $67.43 ahead of the call, with an $83.59 consensus price target.
BP PLC (NYSE: BP) was maintained as Neutral at but the price target was lowered (in pence) at Credit Suisse, with the firm worried that a tough first quarter will continue due to low prices and low demand causing EBIT to be cut in more than half, along with higher taxes and weaker margins.
Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) was raised to Buy from Neutral but the price target was cut to $75 from $79 (versus a $61.15 close) at Goldman Sachs.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $94 price target at Wedbush Securities.
Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. (NYSE: AQUA) was raised to Buy from Neutral but the price target was lowered to $14 from $22 at Goldman Sachs.
Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that we are shifting to a more digitally-driven economy and Fiverr’s offering perfectly embodies this movement. Shares most recently closed at $23.43 and have a consensus price target of $34.86.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was slashed to $25 from $41 at Deutsche Bank, with the firm worried about GM’s liquidity during production shutdowns.
Laureate Education Inc. (NASDAQ: LAUR) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. (NYSE: MAA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this pandemic is pushing retailers to the edge of their balance sheets. Shares last closed at $18.04, with a consensus price target of $27.56.
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ: ODFL) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral with a $120 price objective at BofA Securities. It closed up 3.2% at $142.64 ahead of the call, with a $131.94 consensus price target.
Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS) was maintained as Neutral but its price target was lowered to $23 from $29 (versus a $15.06 close) at Credit Suisse.
RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) was started as Outperform with a $240 price target (versus a $194.99 close) at Evercore ISI.
SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE: NOVA) was maintained as Outperform but its price target was lowered to $12.50 from $21.00 (versus a $10.68 close) at Credit Suisse, a day after Raymond James started it as Outperform with a $13 price target.
Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) was maintained as Outperform but its price target was lowered to $18 from $30 (versus a $10.57 close) at Credit Suisse.
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo.
Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $108 from $95 at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, with the firm talking up Wingstop’s preliminary +9.9% same-store sales in the first quarter as consumers are focused on delivery and to-go orders during the COVID-19 outbreak.
24/7 Wall St.The financial sector has been ripped by the market downturn, and now the stocks are trading incredibly cheap compared with the S&P 500. Four Buy-rated stocks could be big solid additions to long-term growth portfolios. That said, declining book value and dividend cuts are likely to remain key concerns into bank earnings.
Ten fresh credit ratings agency downgrades and warnings could send these corporate borrowing costs sky-high.
Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included BHP, Electronic Arts, Gilead Sciences, Immunomedics, KeyCorp, Peloton Interactive, Shopify, Sunnova Energy, Take-Two Interactive, Walt Disney and many more.
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