Stocks were indicated to open higher ahead of Friday’s ghastly unemployment report. Investors are still trying to decide whether the stock market has rebounded too much from the March lows or whether the trillions of stimulus dollars and a gradual reopening of the economy will set the stage for a massive economic recovery after the summer.

Investors now should be looking at new ideas to decide how to be best positioned ahead of summer and for the rest of 2020. 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.

Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and some cover stocks to sell or to avoid. Analysts are still making many upgrades, downgrades, reiterations and initiations ahead of and after key earnings reports. While many analysts are still cutting price targets and earnings estimates for the coming quarters and for the year, many are still maintaining their prior official ratings.

As a reminder, 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 we have seen on Friday, May 8, 2020.

Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ: AAOI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Rosenblatt.

Bill.com Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BILL) was up 11% at $73.22 on Thursday but was indicated down 3.7% at $70.50 on Friday morning in the post-earnings reaction. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated it as Overweight and raised its target to $76 from $60, and Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $90 from $55.

CenterPoint Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNP) was maintained as Underweight but its price target was raised to $16 from $12 (versus a $17.81 prior close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $190 from $165 at Citigroup.

CommScope Holding Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: COMM) was reiterated as Neutral but its price target was raised to $12 from $7 (versus an $11.02 close, after an 8% gain) at Citigroup.

CryoPort Inc. (NASDAQ: CYRX) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $25 from $24 (versus a $20.64 close) at SVB Leerink.

Group 1 Automotive Inc. (NYSE: GPI) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the lockdown has led to tough times for auto businesses. Its shares last closed at $50.99 and have a consensus price target of $70.75.

Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $56 from $49 at Citigroup. Shares closed up over 9% at $36.97 on Thursday and were indicated up 16% at $43.00 on Friday after earnings. It previously had a $48.00 consensus price target.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) was maintained as Equal Weight and the target price was lowered to $46 from $47 (versus a $50.40 close) at Morgan Stanley. Shares were down from a 52-week high of $94.98, and the consensus price target was $60.84.

Inphi Corp. (NASDAQ: IPHI) was up 2.7% at $98.97 on Thursday but was indicated up 13% at $112.50 on Friday. Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $122 from $100.

Insulet Corp. (NASDAQ: PODD) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $250 from $205 at Citigroup, and SVB Leerink maintained its Market Perform rating but raised its target to $230 from $200. The stock closed up 4% at $215.15 and previously had a $190.06 consensus analyst target.

Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI) was maintained with a Buy rating but its price target was cut to $160 from $175 at Citigroup. JPMorgan downgraded it to Underweight from Neutral and cut its target to $130 from $168.

Murphy Oil Corp. (NYSE: MUR) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $93 from $83 (versus an $87.02 close) at Imperial Capital.

PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Scotia.

SpartanNash Co. (NASDAQ: SPTN) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that local grocery stores offer strong earnings in this pandemic. Shares most recently closed at $16.06, with a consensus price target of $17.33.

Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD) was up over 3% at $322.50 ahead of earnings but was indicated down almost 8% at $297.00 afterward. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy, citing a lack of short-term visibility and valuation. RBC Capital Markets downgraded it to Sector Perform from Outperform but raised its price target to $300 from $225, while Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $370 from $250.

Vonage Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: VG) was up 7.25 at $9.06 on Thursday and was indicated up almost 6% at $9.60 on Friday after earnings. KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained it as Overweight but lowered its price target to $12 from $16.

Here are 20 companies that are defying the recession by continuing to raise their dividends despite the economic carnage.

Stifel analysts raised their price targets on five companies that are red-hot right now. With all posting stellar results for the quarter, they could be primed for a move even higher.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Costco Wholesale, CVS Health, Etsy, General Motors, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Peloton Interactive, Shopify, Twilio, Wynn Resorts 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.