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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Chembio, Cognex, Cree, Deere, Gilead, Halliburton, iRobot, Lam Research, Nvidia, Regeneron, Sorrento, Take-Two and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: May 26, 2020 9:05 am

Last Updated: August 30, 2021 10:41 am

Stocks saw massive gains on Tuesday morning as investors are eager about the reopening of the economy and on coronavirus vaccine hopes. With an upcoming election, a pandemic and a recession all front and center, it has been amazing to see how much stocks have rallied since their panic-selling lows of 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. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and some cover stocks to sell or avoid.

There are still many analyst ratings changes coming with almost normal upgrades and downgrades, along with same-directional price target changes, now that the market has stabilized so much since just over seven weeks ago.

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 upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) was started with an Equal Weight rating at Barclays.

B&G Foods Inc. (NYSE: BGS) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said who knew the green giant could be this hot. Shares most recently closed at $22.27 and have a consensus price target of $17.43.

Boise Cascade Co. (NYSE: BCC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $39 price target (versus a $31.58 prior close) at BofA Securities.

Boot Barn Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BOOT) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the coronavirus has thrown even essential retailers for a loop. Shares last closed at $20.94, with a consensus price target of $25.00.

Chembio Diagnostics Inc. (NASDAQ: CEMI) was started as Outperform with a $21 price target (versus a $10.87 close, after a 6.6% gain) at Robert W. Baird.

Cognex Corp. (NASDAQ: CGNX) was started with a Hold rating and a $55 price target (versus a $61.67 close) at HSBC. Shares had a $47.92 consensus target price.

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) was raised to Market Outperform from Market Perform with a $74 price target at JMP Securities. It closed up 1.5% at $51.73 ahead of the call, with a $48.18 consensus price target.

CymaBay Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CBAY) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $9 price target (versus a $3.86 close) at H.C. Wainwright.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $181 from $171 at Morgan Stanley.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was raised to Hold from Sell and its price target was raised to $73 from $70 at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The stock closed at $73.34 on Friday, and it had an $80.39 consensus price target.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS.

Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. (NYSE: IVR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral with a $2.50 price target (versus a $2.77 close) at Credit Suisse.

iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) was raised to Neutral from Underweight and its price target was raised to $65 from $45 (versus a $73.10 close) at JPMorgan.

KLA Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC) was started as Equal Weight with a $170 price target (versus a $173.00 close) at Barclays.

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Jefferies Makes Incredibly Large Changes to Its Franchise Picks List

Lyra Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: LYRA) was started with a Buy rating and a $24 price target at Jefferies. The stock closed down 3.1% at $14.43 ahead of this call.

Macrogenics Inc. (NASDAQ: MGNX) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $40 from $22 (versus a $25.37 close) at H.C. Wainwright.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $363 from $280 at Morgan Stanley. The stock closed up almost 3% at $361.05 on Friday, and its consensus target price was down closer to $300.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OLLI) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse. Shares closed at $85.61 on Friday, with a $55.38 consensus price target.

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA) was started with a Buy rating and a $105 price target (versus a $91.88 close) at Goldman Sachs. It had a $107.29 prior consensus price target.

Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ: PDD) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $76 from $38 at Benchmark. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $84 from $65. The shares closed up 14.5% at $68.70 on Friday, and the consensus price target was $43.31.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $734 price target at Wells Fargo. Shares closed up 1.6% at $569.91 ahead of the call, with a $531.50 consensus price target.

Rexnord Corp. (NYSE: RXN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities.

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $250 price objective at BofA Securities. The stock closed at $202.19 ahead of the call, with a $183.35 prior consensus price target.

Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE) was started with a Buy rating and a $24 price target (versus a $5.07 close) at Dawson James, with the firm talking up its coronavirus treatment being studied to help frontline workers from getting infected.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (NYSE: SMG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Strong Buy at Raymond James.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and its target was raised to $170 from $120 at BMO Capital Markets. Deutsche Bank reiterated it as Buy and raised its price target to $175 from $145. Shares closed at $140.51 on Friday, with a $132.21 prior consensus price target.

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $225 from $170 (versus a $208.62 close) at Needham.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and its price target was raised to $80 from $40 (versus a $66.49 close) at Telsey Advisory Group.

Jefferies has made a major move in its Franchise Picks list of top stocks to buy, adding six new picks while removing seven.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Agilent Technologies, Aurora Cannabis, Best Buy, Box, Marvell Technology, Nvidia, Palo Alto Networks, Roku, Splunk and TJX Companies.