Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amex, Carnival, CIT, Cloudflare, Editas, FedEx, PayPal, United Rentals, Zscaler and More

Investing

Published: June 18, 2020 8:57 am

Last Updated: June 18, 2020 9:00 am

The stock market took a breather on Thursday morning as the drop in jobless claims was starting to flatten out. The market is trying to price in the effects of a second wave of COVID-19 cases as economies continue to reopen while many of the economic readings continue to improve. Now is a time that investors should be considering how they want their assets positioned for the remainder 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 avoid.

What has happened in the most recent drive of the gains is that many analyst calls have included upgrades and price target hikes, but in often 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 Thursday, June 18, 2020.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at DZ Bank.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ: OZK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was downgraded to Sell from Hold and the price target was cut to $10 from $14 (versus a $19.09 prior close) at Berenberg.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $150 from $125 (versus a $128.23 close) at Citigroup.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $31 from $27 (versus a $23.73 close) at Citigroup.

Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE: NET) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight with a $34 price target (versus a $35.80 close) at Morgan Stanley.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this e-commerce giant has seen a big surge in orders during the pandemic. Shares most recently closed at $48.43, with a consensus price target of $48.19.

Editas Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ: EDIT) was started with a Buy rating and a $45 price target (versus a $29.89 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $160 from $140 (versus a $135.66 close) at Citigroup.

Health Catalyst Inc. (NASDAQ: HCAT) was started as Buy and a $36 target price at Stifel.

Invitation Homes Inc. (NYSE: INVH) was started with a Buy rating and a $34 price target (versus a $28.40 close) at Janney.

Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $85 from $82 (versus a $74.44 close) at Citigroup.

Ovid Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: OVID) was reiterated as Overweight and its target price was raised to $13 from $7 (versus a $5.43 close) at Cantor Fitzgerald.

PACCAR Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $84 from $80 (versus a $74.30 close) at Citigroup.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $186 from $145 (versus a $163.83 close) at Citigroup.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this meat processor’s profits and margins have dropped. Shares last closed at $63.49 and have a consensus price target of $72.26.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $185 from $150 (versus a $155.56 close) at Citigroup.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight with a $104 price target (versus a $106.18 close) at Morgan Stanley.

ALSO READ: RBC’s Top 2020 ESG Best Idea Stocks to Buy

RBC has some top picks in the ESG (environmental, social, governance) theme for massive upside ahead.

A fresh travel industry study signals that the airline cruise lines, hotels, booking and tech companies behind travel and tourism may not be back to normal even by 2023.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amazon.com, Apple, Barrick Gold, Home Depot, Lennar, Lowe’s, Newmont, Nikola, Oracle, Valero Energy, Visa and more.

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