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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Anthem, AEP, Apple, Broadcom, DocuSign, eBay, Gap, GameStop, Humana, Immunic, PG&E, Slack, Sysco and More
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Stocks were already strong on Friday morning, but an unexpectedly good jobs report sent stocks even higher. The S&P 500 is now indicated above 3,150 and the Dow Jones industrial average was already approaching 27,000 again. The trend that the investing community has been looking toward is pivoting beyond the COVID-19 pandemic as the economy opens up, as well as looking beyond the bad news dominating the media right now, and looking beyond the economic recession and weak earnings.
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.
What has happened in this past drive of the gains is that many analyst calls have had upgrades and price target hikes, but in many cases stocks are managing to move even beyond what the ratings and expectations might have indicated.
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 calls we have seen on Friday, June 5, 2020.
Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) was started with a Neutral rating and a $340 price target (versus a $282.09 prior close) at Goldman Sachs.
American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $98 from $90 at UBS. AEP closed down almost 3% at $84.40 ahead of the call, with an $89.56 consensus price target.
American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) was maintained as Neutral but its price target was raised to $139 from $127 (versus a $130.70 close) at UBS.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Outperform at Wedbush Securities, and the firm’s base price target is now $375 (up from $350) and its bullish case is now $425 (up from $400). The firm noted that Apple’s services business has continued to outperform during the lockdown and is now on pace to exceed $60 billion in annual revenues in fiscal 2021.
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $360 from $300 (versus a $308.89 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, with the firm noting that it is still the best dividend yield (4.2%) and growth story in semiconductors. UBS reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $335 from $275.
Builders FirstSource (NASDAQ: BLDR) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $28 from $23 (versus a $22.44 close) at Wedbush, with the firm calling out multiple positive demand drivers likely producing higher revenues and earnings.
DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) closed down 5% at $140.06 ahead of earnings and was up 1.6% at $142.35 afterward. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and raised the price target to $165 from $140, noting higher earnings estimates and an increased confidence in its story moving forward.
Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this discount retailer has become a go-to for consumers under economic pressure. Shares most recently closed at $185.88m with a consensus price target of $200.04.
Domtar Corp. (NYSE: UFS) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
DTE Energy Co. (NYSE: DTE) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $119 price objective at BofA Securities. It closed down 1.7% at $113.11 on Thursday, with a $121.60 consensus price target.
Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its price target was lowered to $125 from $140 (versus a $101.23 close) at UBS.
Evolent Health Inc. (NYSE: EVH) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its price target was slashed to $8 from $13 (versus a $6.30 close) at Goldman Sachs. Its 52-week range is $3.50 to $12.01, and its consensus price target was $12.67.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) was reiterated as Neutral and its price target was raised to $12 from $8 at MKM Partners. Gap shares closed up 1.6% at $12.14 ahead of the calls, with an $8.87 consensus price target.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) closed up 0.7% at $4.47 on Thursday, and the shares were indicated down over 6% at $4.19 ahead of the open after its results were released earlier than expected. Credit Suisse reiterated it as Underperform and cut its price target to $3.50 from $4.50.
Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that sales plunged in the first quarter but the new business is suspect. Shares last closed at $11.94 and have a consensus price target of $10.67.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) was started with a Buy rating and a $510 price target (versus a $392.27 close) at Goldman Sachs. It has a 52-week range of $208.25 to $412.70, and its consensus price target was $427.86.
Immunic Inc. (NASDAQ: IMUX) was started with an Outperform rating and a $59 price target (versus a $12.19 close) at Wedbush. The firm noted that the exponential upside potential attributed to the company’s target selectivity creates a best-in-class orally administered treatment candidates designed to treat chronic autoimmune, inflammatory and viral diseases. The stock has a 52-week range of $4.19 to $19.05, and its market cap was only $146 million as of Thursday’s close.
Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. (NYSE: MIC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo.
Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE: MTH) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI.
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $35 price target (versus a $27.93 close) at Loop Capital. Robert W. Baird raised its rating to Outperform from Neutral with a $35 price target.
PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $14 price objective (versus an $11.87 close) at BofA Securities. It has a 52-week trading range of $3.55 to $25.19, and its consensus target price was $14.17.
REPAY Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: RPAY) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $28 from $20 (versus a $23.67 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Slack Technologies Inc. (NYSE: WORK) closed down almost 5% at $37.94 on profit-taking ahead of earnings, and the shares were last seen down 13% at $33.00 after ahead of Friday’s open. Wedbush reiterated it as Underperform but raised its price target to $20 from $14.
Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $70 from $50 at Wells Fargo. Shares closed down almost 1% at $58.59 ahead of the call, with a $55.14 consensus price target. They are still down from a 52-week high of $85.98.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Comerica, Costco, Caesars Entertainment, GameStop, Goldman Sachs, Plug Power, Replimune, Tyson Foods, Wells Fargo and more.
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