Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Albermarle, Biogen, D&B, eBay, First Solar, Lemonade, Morgan Stanley, P&G, Schlumberger, Verizon and More

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By Jon C. Ogg Published
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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Albermarle, Biogen, D&B, eBay, First Solar, Lemonade, Morgan Stanley, P&G, Schlumberger, Verizon and More

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Futures were trading higher as there was little major news over the weekend and as the market anticipates the next round of stimulus. With an election coming up, and with what is still a very deep recession, investors need to 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 in an effort to find new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

Remember that 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 Monday, July 27, 2020.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB | ALB Price Prediction) was downgraded to Sell from Hold and its price target was raised to $68 from $65 (versus an $87.04 prior close) at Berenberg.

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American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond James.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $83 from $65 (versus a $62.37 close) at Citigroup.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was raised to Overweight from Underweight and its price target was raised to $357 from $263 (versus a $272.33 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.

Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DNB) was started as Outperform with a $30 price target Credit Suisse. RBC Capital Markets started it as Outperform with a $31 target, BMO Capital Markets started it as Outperform with a $30 target, and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey started it as Buy with a $31 price target.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $69 from $60 (versus a $55.12 close) at Benchmark. It had a $55.62 consensus target price.

eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) fell 30% to $79.17 on Friday after its earnings report. Raymond James maintained its Outperform rating but slashed its price target to $115 from $165.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Roth Capital.

GSX Techedu Inc. (NYSE: GSX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

KLA Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $214 from $178 (versus a $188.21 close) at Citigroup. It had a $187.13 consensus target price.

Kontoor Brands Inc. (NYSE: KTB) was raised to Buy from Sell and its target price was raised to $24 from $17 (versus a $17.66 close) at Goldman Sachs.

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Lemonade Inc. (NYSE: LMND) was down over 5% at $77.97 on Friday, and it was indicated down another 3% at $75.35 on Monday as its quiet period ended. Morgan Stanley and Barclays each started it as Equal Weight, and JMP Securities started it as Outperform with a $105 price target.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $58 from $56 (versus a $50.18 close) at Citigroup. Morgan Stanley had a $58.02 consensus target price.

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (NYSEARCA: NAK) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $2.75 from $2.25 (versus a $1.94 close, after a 13% drop) at H.C. Wainwright.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its target price was raised to $140 from $125 at Needham.

Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK) was started as Outperform with an $85 target price (versus a $78.65 close) at Raymond James.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $138 from $133 at Deutsche Bank.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $49 target price at Wells Fargo.

Regency Centers Corp. (NYSE: REG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Retail Properties of America Inc. (NYSE: RPAI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its target price was raised to $26 from $20 (versus a $19.48 close) at Citigroup. Schlumberger had a $21.54 consensus price target.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) was reiterated as Strong Buy but its price target was cut to $42 from $45 (versus a $31.66 close) at Raymond James. Citigroup maintained its Neutral rating but cut its target to $36 from $38.

Teradyne Inc. (NASDAQ: TER) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $89 from $72 (versus an $83.53 close) at Citigroup.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $64 from $61 at Raymond James.

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See five stocks with the most upside from the Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AGNC Investment, Annaly Capital Management, Arbutus Biopharma, Blackstone, Chevron, Enphase Energy, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, Intel, Tesla, Skyworks Solutions and more.

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About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

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