Stocks have somehow managed to keep on recovering from their March lows with a snapback rally so strong that it has rivaled the tempo of the February to March panic selling. The bull market may have died, but after such a strong recovery during increasingly negative economic reports, some market watchers are worried that the stock market may be getting ahead of itself. This is a time when investors need to be considering new ideas, now that the major equity indexes have recouped so much of their losses.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find some of those new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or avoid. Consensus analyst target prices are from Refinitiv.

Analysts are still making many upgrades, downgrades, reiterations and initiations ahead of and after key earnings reports. While some are still cutting price targets and earnings estimates for the coming quarters and the year, many are maintaining their prior official ratings. There are even many traditional upgrades and reiterations taking place as though things were close to normal. Remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

These are the top analyst calls seen on Thursday, April 30, 2020.

Boston Scientific Corp. (NASDAQ: BSX) was reiterated as Strong Buy and the price target was raised to $43 from $42 at Raymond James.

Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) was started as Neutral with an $89 price target (versus an $84.89 prior close) at Nomura/Instinet.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that Caterpillar fell short in the first quarter as the coronavirus is taking its toll on the economy. Shares last closed at $120.06 and have a consensus price target of $122.65.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Loop Capital.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) was started with an Overweight rating and a $23 price target at Morgan Stanley.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was reiterated as Outperform with a $44 price target at Wedbush Securities.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was up 6.1% at $194.19 ahead of earnings and up another 7% at $208.65 afterward. Noting that it is seeing some stabilization in the ad market, Rosenblatt reiterated Facebook as Buy and raised its price target to $244 from $223. Robert W. Baird reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $240 from $200. Pivotal Research raised it to Hold from Sell with a $225 price target, while BofA Securities reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price objective to $240 from $200.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was lowered to $9.50 from $12.00 at HSBC.

InflaRx N.V. (NASDAQ: IFRX) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $10 price target (versus a $5.42 close) at Raymond James. Shares were indicated up 13% at $6.13 after the call in the post-earnings response.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) closed up 7.2% at $283.69 on Wednesday. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its as Overweight and raised its price target to $300 from $285. Raymond James reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $301 from $288.

Medpace Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MEDP) was raised to Hold from Sell with an $85 price target (versus an $84.33 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) closed up 4.5% at $177.43 ahead of earnings and was indicated up another 1.5% at $180.00 after the report. Wedbush Securities reiterated it as Outperform and raised its price target to $220 from $210. Citigroup maintained its Hold rating but raised its price target to $179 from $167. Mizuho reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $205 from $200.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON) was reiterated as Market Outperform and its price target was raised to $43 from $41 (versus a $31.89 close, after a 6.3% gain) at JMP Securities.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was lowered to $17 from $25 at HSBC.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (NYSE: SMG) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that shares have surged 20% in 2020 and its lawn care products are seen as immune to the coronavirus. Shares most recently closed at $127.19, with a consensus price target of $124.00.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $50 from $40 at Stifel.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $190 from $184 (versus a $155.78 close) at Rosenblatt.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) closed down 3.3% at $175.10 and was indicated down another 2% at $171.50 after earnings. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its price target to $195 from $180.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was reiterated as Market Outperform and its price target was raised to $1,020 from $840 at JMP Securities. Wedbush maintained it as Neutral but raised its price target to $600 from $425, and Piper Sandler reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its price target to $939 from $820. Tesla closed up 4% at $800.51 a share on Wednesday and was indicated up 7% at $858.00 on Thursday’s post-earnings reaction.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) was reiterated as Market Outperform and its price target was raised to $285 from $255 at JMP Securities.

Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.

Fifteen companies have managed to keep raising dividends during the recession while so many other companies are cutting or suspending theirs.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Advanced Micro Devices, Corning, FireEye, Inovia Pharmaceuticals, Lululemon Athletica, Nike, Roku, Starbucks, Tyson Foods, Walmart and 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.