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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AMC, Apple, Cerence, Chipotle, Ciena, Disney, Dollar Tree, Freshpet, LATAM, Nio, Peloton, Ping, Tesla and More

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Stocks were set to open up another 1% or so on Wednesday after surging on Tuesday, and the Nasdaq is now even up year to date. Investors are still grappling with very bad economic numbers, with unemployment high and gross domestic product crashing. And with Wall Street betting on a strong Main Street, investors have to consider an upcoming election, the ongoing risks of illness versus reopening and a weak consumer and weak business spending environment. It has been nothing short of 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.

Analysts are trying to normalize earnings and revenue trends for beyond 2020 at this point to determine what might be cheap and what might be expensive. Some calls are praising growth over value, and others are focused on base economy stocks that already have begun to recover.

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 Wednesday, May 27, 2020.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that shares have climbed 20% in 2020 as the coronavirus-induced stay-at-home push has boosted sales. The shares most recently closed at $70.00 and have a consensus price target of $69.71.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell and the price target was raised to $5 from $1 (versus a $5.11 prior close, after an 11% gain) at MKM Partners.

Anaplan Inc. (NYSE: PLAN) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $55 from $50 (versus a $47.15 close) at Deutsche Bank.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $320 from $305 at Deutsche Bank. Apple closed down almost 0.7% at $316.73 on Tuesday, with a $308.91 consensus target price.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) was reiterated as Hold but the price target was raised to $31 from $19 at Deutsche Bank.

Bio-Techne Corp. (NASDAQ: TECH) was downgraded to Hold from Buy but its price target was raised to $260 from $245 (versus a $260.65 close) at Stifel.

Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ: CRNC) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $40 from $27 (versus a $32.50 close) at Wedbush Securities.

ChemoCentryx Inc. (NASDAQ: CCXI) was started as Overweight with a $79 price target (versus a $59.20 close) at Wells Fargo.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was started as Hold at Deutsche Bank, which assigned a $1,130 price target. Shares closed down 3.7% at $1,017.00 on Tuesday, and this is among a group of hot stocks trading well above their consensus target prices.

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $59 from $51 (versus a $53.91 close) at Rosenblatt.

Dentsply Sirona Inc. (NASDAQ: XRAY) was raised to Outperform from In-Line with a $50 price target (versus a $45.33 close) at Evercore ISI Group.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was reiterated as Hold but its price target was raised to $187 from $159 at Deutsche Bank.

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $97 from $87 at Deutsche Bank.


Endava PLC (NYSE: DAVA) was started with an Outperform rating and a $60 price target (versus a $45.74 close) at Wedbush. The firm called the U.K.-based fintech enabler one of the fastest-growing digital IT services plays and pointed out its hyper-growth track record and a differentiated SMAC-based talent and capabilities focused on fintech in Eastern European delivery infrastructure and its European-based client base.

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy but the price target was raised to $41 from $39 at Mizuho.

Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $102 from $99 at Deutsche Bank.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) was maintained as Buy but its price target was lowered to $42 from $51 (versus a $28.22 close) at B. Riley FBR.

Freshpet Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT) was started with a Buy rating and a $86 price target (versus a $70.92 close) at Jefferies.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $55 target price (versus a $56.54 close, after a 7% gain) at Robert W. Baird.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) was raised to Neutral from Sell and its price target was raised to $66 from $42 (versus a $65.31 close) at Goldman Sachs.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE: LTM) was down 35% at $1.68 on Tuesday after the Chilean-based airline filed for bankruptcy protection in New York. Deutsche Bank downgraded it to Sell from Hold and slashed its price target to $1 from $4.

New York Mortgage Trust Inc. (NASDAQ: NYMT) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight with a $2.50 price target (versus a $2.15 prior close) at Barclays.

Nio Ltd. (NYSE: NIO) was raised to Neutral from Underweight and the price target was raised to $3.50 from $2.00 (versus a $3.82 close, after a 17% gain) at JPMorgan.

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $50 from $46 at Oppenheimer. Shares closed down almost 9% at $41.70 on Tuesday, with a $38.48 consensus price target. Its recent high was $49.68.

Ping Identity Holding Corp. (NYSE: PING) was started as Overweight with a $32 price target (versus a $27.60 close) at Piper Sandler. It has a $25.96 consensus target price, and its post-IPO high has been $29.80.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was reiterated as Neutral but the price target was raised to $800 from $600 at Wedbush. Tesla closed up 0.2% at $818.87 on Tuesday and was indicated down about 0.6% on Wednesday on news that it has decided to lower prices for its electric vehicles.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its price target was raised to $135 from $115 at Raymond James.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically impacted Disney and it fell short in its most recent quarterly report. Shares last closed at $120.95, with a consensus price target of $126.52.

Moreover, SunTrust is out with its sizzling summer picks with sizable upside potential.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Chembio Diagnostics, Cognex, Cree, Deere, Gilead Sciences, Halliburton, iRobot, Lam Research, Nvidia, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sorrento Therapeutics, Take-Two Interactive Software and more.

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