Stocks closed sharply higher on Monday but were giving back some profits Tuesday morning. With an election coming up, and with a deep recession and rising COVID-19 cases, investors need to be considering how they want their assets positioned heading into the second half 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 this last drive of the gains is that many analyst calls have included upgrades and price target hikes, but often stocks are managing to move 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 Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

ANGI Homeservices Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $15 from $10 (versus an $11.85 prior close) at Citigroup.

Applied Molecular Transport Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTI) was started as Buy with a $38 price target at Jefferies, and BofA Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $34 price objective. Shares closed down 1.3% at $25.80 ahead of these calls.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) was maintained as Outperform with a $1,300 price target, but it also was removed from the Best Ideas List at Wedbush Securities, with the firm noting that the near-term strength the company has been experiencing is likely to fade as car sales recover and as the stimulus and benefits run out or get downsized.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: AVDL) was started as Buy with a $15 price target (versus a $7.94 close) at H.C. Wainwright.

BioNTech S.E. (NASDAQ: BNTX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at HC Wainwright.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that if bars and restaurants are closing again, it must be even worse for cruise liners. Shares last closed at $16.78 and have a consensus price target of $16.39.

Chegg Inc. (NYSE: CHGG) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. KeyBanc Capital Markets started it as Overweight with an $80 target price. The stock closed up 2% at $66.73 on Monday, with a $64.42 consensus price target.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) was started with a Buy rating and a $256 price target (versus a $217.58 close) at D.A. Davidson.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was raised to Buy from Hold and its target price was raised to $40 from $22 (versus a $35.07 close) at Loop Capital. Shares closed up 6.6% at $35.07 on Monday, with a $31.78 consensus target price.

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $39 from $35 (versus a $33.05 close) at Citigroup.

Energy Recovery Inc. (NASDAQ: ERII) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley FBR. The stock was up 6.6% to $8.91 on Monday and was indicated down over 13% at $7.70 on Tuesday morning after earnings and after exiting a licensing agreement with Schlumberger.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $115 from $90 (versus a $102.89 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ICPT) fell almost 40% to $46.70 after a disappointment in a NASH study. Cowen downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform and slashed its target price to $47 from $149.

Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. (NYSE: IVR) was started as Underperform with a $2.50 price objective (versus a $3.57 close) at BofA Securities.

Magellan Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: MMP) was started with a Buy rating and a $55 price target (versus a $42.03 close) at TD Securities.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was trading up about 6% at $52.00 after beating earnings expectations. Wedbush reiterated it as Neutral with a $55 price target (versus a $49.15 close). Jefferies reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target price to $65 from $60. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target price to $70 from $59.

9 Meters Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: NMTR) was started with a Buy rating and a $5 price target (versus a $0.56 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. This had a mere $53 million market cap that is labeled as high-risk that is targeting celiac disease and short bowel syndrome. This stock was indicated up almost 20% at $0.67 on Tuesday morning.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG. Shares closed down 1.8% at $199.84 ahead of the call, with a $198.41 consensus target price.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) was started as Outperform and with a $195 price target (versus a $168.35 close) at JMP Securities.

Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) was started with a Buy rating and a $17 price target (versus an $8.39 close) at TD Securities.

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) was maintained as Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley after its shares rallied 17% to $7.99 on Monday.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $63 from $60 (versus a $55.25 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Morgan Stanley reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $62 from $60.

Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: SCHN) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that it could be time to step back into traditional American stocks. Shares most recently closed at $17.41 and have a consensus price target of $16.00.

Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $167 from $155 (versus a $164.37 close) at SVB Leerink. Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $188 from $163. Shares were indicated up over 4% at $172.00 after posting positive Phase 2 topline results in a recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer trial.

Shift4 Payments Inc. (NYSE: FOUR) was started as Buy with a $46 price target (versus a $35.93 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Evercore ISI started it as Outperform with a $48 price target.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) was started as Neutral with a $270 price target at Citigroup.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was started with a Market Perform rating at JMP Securities.

2U Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $50 from $28 (versus a $36.88 close) at Citigroup. Its consensus price target was $34.64.

UGI Corp. (NYSE: UGI) was reiterated as Buy with a $53 price target (versus a $31.62 close) at Janney. The firm noted that the midstream player has superior positioning of pipelines if Chesapeake Energy can’t deliver and the company considers its Marcellus assets as a free cash flow machine with 10 years of drilling inventory at $1.50/mcf to $1.75/mcf breakeven.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amazon.com, Beyond Meat, Diamondback Energy, Enphase Energy, Groupon, Nuance Communications, PG&E, Spotify, ZoomInfo, and more.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.