Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AGCO, Anthem, AT&T, Caterpillar, Comcast, Cogent, CVS, DraftKings, FedEx, Papa John's, Square, UnitedHealth and More

Investing

Published: July 1, 2020 9:08 am

Last Updated: July 1, 2020 9:22 am

The second half and third quarter of 2020 are now officially underway. Stocks have been fighting for gains and losses in the past month or so as the COVID-19 cases are surging and threatening the reopening of the economy. With an election coming up, and with still a very deep recession, investors should be considering how they want their assets positioned for 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 Wednesday, July 1, 2020.

AdaptHealth Corp. (NASDAQ: AHCO) was started with an Outperform rating and a $21 price target (versus a $16.10 prior close) at SVB Leerink.

AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) was started as Outperform with a $325 target price (versus a $262.98 close) at SVB Leerink.

Aptinyx Inc. (NASDAQ: APTX) was started with a Buy rating and a $15 price target (versus a $4.17 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, which noted that its NMDAR modulation can restore synaptic plasticity and rewire the brain.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was maintained as Overweight but its target price was lowered to $36 from $38 (versus a $30.23 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Gordon Haskett.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was raised to Buy from Hold and was assigned a $166 target price (versus a $126.50 close) at Deutsche Bank.

Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC) was started with an Outperform rating and a $78 target price (versus a $63.55 prior close) at SVB Leerink.

Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) was started as Market Perform at SVB Leerink.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) was reiterated as Overweight and its target price was raised to $51 from $48 at Morgan Stanley.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and its target price was raised to $52 from $48 at Bernstein.

Cogent Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CCOI) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $90 price target (versus a $77.36 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) was started with a Market Perform rating at SVB Leerink.

Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Gordon Haskett.

Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the pandemic has taken a toll on this footwear retailer’s comps and profits. Shares last closed at $6.77 and have a consensus price target of $8.07.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) was started with an Overweight rating and a $52 price target (versus a $33.26 close) at Stephens. It had a $46.80 consensus price target.

eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) was started with a Market Perform rating at SVB Leerink.

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FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its price target was raised to $188 from $145 at JPMorgan. FedEx closed up 4.2% at $140.22 ahead of earnings but was indicated up over 10% at $156.00 on Wednesday ahead of the open, with a prior $150.67 consensus target price.

Global Blood Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: GBT) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its target price was raised to $103 from $91 at Goldman Sachs. It had a $107.50 consensus target price.

GSX Techedu Inc. (NYSE: GSX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy but its target price was raised to $57 from $50 at Goldman Sachs.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) was started with an Outperform rating and a $465 price target (versus a $387.75 close) at SVB Leerink.

iHeartMedia Inc. (NASDAQ: IHRT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities.

Invitae Corp. (NASDAQ: NVTA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Benchmark.

Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: MOH) was started with an Outperform rating and a $220 price target at SVB Leerink.

Northern Oil and Gas Inc. (NYSE: NOG) was raised to Buy from Hold and was assigned a $2 price target (versus $0.84 prior close) at SunTrust. The firm noted that Northern’s non-operated status that keeps it at a discount provides positive options in the current volatile energy environment as it is able to actively decide which wells to participate in and which to non-consent along with what accretive working interests it should acquire.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OLLI) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this discount retailer could be just the thing to help budget-conscious consumers. Shares most recently closed at $97.65 and have a consensus price target of $98.64.

1Life Healthcare Inc. (NASDAQ: ONEM) was started with a Market Perform rating at SVB Leerink.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) was started as Outperform and with a $95 price target (versus a $79.10 close) at Wedbush Securities, with drivers of sustained mid-to-high single digits same-store sales with economics that could send domestic growth ahead of expectation.

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON) was reiterated with a Buy rating and its target was raised to $70 from $56 (versus a $57.77 close) at Rosenblatt.

Rent-A-Center Inc. (NASDAQ: RCII) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy by Janney.

Replimune Group Inc. (NASDAQ: REPL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at H.C. Wainwright.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its price target was raised to $121 from $69 (versus a $104.94 close) at Rosenblatt.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) was started with an Outperform rating and a $360 price target (versus a $294.95 close) at SVB Leerink.

Varonis Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNS) was started with an Overweight rating and a $130 price target (versus an $88.48 close) at JPMorgan.

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYNE) lost almost half of its value and closed down at $3.37 on Tuesday after disappointing cannabinoid drug study data. Needham downgraded it to Hold from Buy.

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Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included ANGI Homeservices, Carnival, Chegg, Clorox, Crocs, Dish Network, Etsy, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Micron Technology, Okta, Seattle Genetics, Spotify, Square, 2U and more.

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