The futures traded lower Thursday morning as investors once again digested a volatile week for the markets. With second-quarter earnings underway, and a decent showing from some of the financials this week, we could just be taking a breather before moving higher. However, despite the solid start, this earnings season is expected to be the worst year-over-year comparison since the Great Recession.

With an election coming up, and with what is still a very deep recession, investors should be considering how they want their assets positioned for the second half of 2020 and as 2021 comes into focus.

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.

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, July 16, 2020.

Audiocodes Ltd. (NASDAQ: AUDC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Needham, which has a $42 price target. The consensus target across Wall Street is $39. The analysts think an accelerated shift to cloud precipitated by COVID-19, and the related explosive growth of Microsoft Teams, could serve to sustainably accelerate the company’s growth rate. The shares closed Wednesday at $32.91.

Aramark Corp. (NYSE: ARMK) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and the price target was lowered to $26 at RBC Capital Markets. The consensus target is $29.54, and the last trade Wednesday came in at $23.95.

Chubb Ltd. (NYSE: CB) was raised from In-line to Outperform with a $157 price target at Evercore ISI. The consensus target price is $137.50. The shares closed Wednesday at $132.80.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which kept its $50 price target. The consensus target for the legacy technology giant is right in line at $49.19. The shares were last seen trading at $46.40.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $36 at JPMorgan. The consensus target for the optical giant is $24.86, and the shares closed Wednesday at $28.06.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, where the analysts have set a $68 price objective. That compares with a $56.89 consensus view and Wednesday’s close at $52.68. The shares traded up over 10% in the premarket Thursday morning.

Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) saw its target price lowered to $55 from $70 at Imperial Capital. The consensus target is $58.98, and Wednesday’s closing price was $39.90.

Dollar Tree Inc. (NYSE: DLTR) was raised to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities, which also raised the price objective to $115. The consensus target is $104.48. The last Wednesday trade came in at $95.71.

HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS) was started with a Buy rating and a $286 price target at Citigroup. The consensus target is just $196.84. The final trade on Wednesday was posted at $216.36.

Interdigital Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC) was started with an Outperform rating and a $90 price objective at Oppenheimer. The shares were last seen trading at $56.08.

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy with the price target raised to $40 at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target is $38.89. The shares were last seen at $33.40, after almost a 5% gain on Wednesday.

Lithia Motors Inc. (NYSE: LAD) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that cars are selling like hotcakes. Shares most recently closed at $174.99 and have a consensus price target of $154.14.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which also lowered the price target to $26. The consensus price target is $37. The stock closed at $29.53 a share on Wednesday.

Kraft Heinz Co. (NYSE: KHC) was raised from Hold to Buy with a $38 price objective at Deutsche Bank. The stock closed trading Wednesday at $31.89.

Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE: MTH) was raised from Sell to Neutral with a new price target at $80 at Goldman Sachs. The consensus price objective is $71.50. The stock closed Wednesday at $82.21, up close to 4% on the day.

Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) saw its target price raised to $132 from $102 at H.C. Wainwright. The stock has been on fire, due to it being a contender for a COVID-19 vaccine. The analysts believe a global market exists for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines that could peak at approximately $10 billion in 2023, and they project Novavax’s vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, as annually sustaining 10% market share. The stock was last seen Wednesday at $111.15, and it was down some in premarket trading.

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NYSE: PTON) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, but the firm actually raised its price target to $58. That is in line with the $58.48 consensus figure, but Wednesday’s closing share price was $63.13. The shares were down almost 3% in the premarket.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that earnings estimates for this global retailer continue to be slashed. Shares last closed at $50.78 and have a consensus price target of $59.16.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) was started with a Neutral rating and a $998 price target at Citigroup. The $793.01 consensus target is dramatically lower. Shares closed Wednesday at $959.45 apiece.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen, which also lowered the price target to $97. Shares of the entertainment giant closed Wednesday at $120.90.

Zendesk Inc. (NYSE: ZEN) was started with a Neutral rating and a $100 price target at Citigroup. Wednesday’s final trade was posted at $88.42.

In addition, UBS has 10 Trump election victory stock picks and 10 Biden election victory stock picks.

And check out six undervalued semiconductor stocks heading into earnings season.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apple, AT&T, CenturyLink, Fortinet, Gap, GW Pharma, Halliburton, Marvell, Schlumberger, Wells Fargo, Western Digital 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.