Stocks somehow keep managing to discount every bit of bad news that is thrown at the economy. Bad economic numbers, civil unrest and weak earnings all are being deemed temporary as the economy was reopening for business. Wednesday’s indications were for futures to open up less than 1%, and the Dow Jones industrial average is getting close to 26,000 and the S&P 500 is approaching 3,100 again.
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.
Now that stocks have recovered so much, it seems that the analyst calls with lower and lower price targets have ended. In many cases, analysts are raising their outlooks and targets, even if they have cautious macro views or earnings caution. Some calls are praising growth over value, and others are focused on base economy stocks that already have begun recovering.
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.
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These are the top analyst calls we have seen on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.
Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA | APA Price Prediction) was maintained as Equal Weight at Barclays, but the firm’s price target was raised to $13 from $8. Shares closed up over 4% at $12.23, with a $12.17 consensus price target.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $340 from $326 (versus a $323.34 prior close) at Morgan Stanley. Apple had a $314.55 consensus target price.
Brinks Co. (NYSE: BCO) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that a combination of a drop in cash transactions and poor planning spell trouble for this armored transport company. Shares last closed at $42.38, with a consensus price target of $77.00.
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was reiterated as Sell and its price target was cut to $152 from $153 at Rosenblatt. Shares closed down almost 2% at $178.78 ahead of the call, with a $195.65 consensus target price.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $133 from $117 (versus a $107.03 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $120 from $95 at SunTrust. Barclays reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $114 from $100. The stock was down 2.7% at $92.25 ahead of earnings but was indicated up 10% at $101.50 on Wednesday morning.
Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) was started as Outperform and a $220 price target (versus a $203.97 close) at Cowen.
Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $13 from $11 at Barclays. Shares closed up almost 4% at $12.16 on Tuesday, with a $14.54 consensus target price.
Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $54 from $34 at Barclays. The stock closed up over 4% at $45.61 on Tuesday, and it had a $54.41 consensus target price.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at SVB Leerink, which talked up potential revenues from remdesivir that is expected to sell for $5,000 or so per course of treatment. Shares were down 2.5% at $73.26 on Tuesday and were indicated up over 1% at $74.15 ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell. The consensus target price is $80.25.
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Hexo Corp. (NYSE: HEXO) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that there is a lot going on for this low-priced cannabis company. Shares most recently closed at $0.65 and have a consensus price target of $0.72.
Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $62 price target (versus a $52.71 prior close) at Raymond James.
MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MKTX) was maintained as Neutral but its price target was raised to $465 from $455 (versus a $515.96 close) at Rosenblatt.
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) was up 1.1% ahead of guidance but was last seen up almost 8% at $104.40 afterward. Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $130 from $100. Raymond James reiterated its Strong Buy rating and raised its target to $115 from $100. And KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $105 from $100.
ProPetro Holding Corp. (NYSE: PUMP) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $6 from $5 at Raymond James.
Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $24 from $21 (versus a $19.62 close) at Raymond James.
Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) was trading up 1.9% at $208.08 ahead of earnings, and the shares were up 1.7% at $211.00 on Wednesday after the report. Needham reiterated it as Buy and raised its target to $230 from $140, and D.A. Davidson upgraded it to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $240 from $150. RBC Capital Markets raised it to Outperform from Sector Perform and doubled its target to $250 from $125. Rosenblatt maintained it as Neutral but raised its target to $210 from $150.
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The macro-strategy team at BofA Securities issued its June outlook, and the firm continues to favor equities over fixed income. The firm also has recommended sticking with U.S. large caps over the rest of the world, and it currently has an underweight stance on non-U.S. assets. For those investors who still need or want fixed income, the firm favors investment-grade bonds. On a portfolio rebalancing basis, for investors with an 18-month or longer time frame, BofA would be buyers of equities on any real weakness with dollar cost averaging plans already set as the summer months are here.
24/7 Wall St. released a list of 10 oil companies likely to be still thriving in 2030. These are not the only 10 and, of course, it may be a bumpy ride until then.
Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AbbVie, ANGI Homeservices, CBOE, Darden Restaurants, Hess, Lululemon Athletica, MongoDB, PayPal, Shopify, Slack, Zynga and more.
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