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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Albermarle, Apple, ConEd, Etsy, GoHealth, Hecla, NortonLifeLock, Pinterest, Switch, T-Mobile and More
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Stocks were indicated to open about 0.3% higher in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrials on Monday after executive orders were signed after Congress failed to reach a stimulus package last week. The S&P 500 is within about 2% of recapturing its all-time highs from February, and earnings season has now peaked. Many investors have missed out on the recovery and are looking for new ideas for how to be positioned in the second half of 2020 and ahead of the election.
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.
Now that stocks have recovered so much, analyst calls have normalized with fewer extreme target changes. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Monday, August 10, 2020.
Albermarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB) was reiterated as Neutral at Citigroup after its recent earnings, but the target price was raised to $87 from $78 after Friday’s 1.3% gain to $84.44. The consensus target price was $75.96.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Outperform at Wedbush Securities, but the firm again bumped up its target price. The new target price is $515, and the so-called bull case is now $600, up from a base case of $475, with Apple pointed out as the analyst’s favorite name to play the 5G theme and a strong belief that another re-rating of the stock is on the horizon. Apple also was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the firm delivered impressive results and a stock split is in the cards for this iPhone giant.
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup and its target price was raised to $38 from $29 after Friday’s 0.8% drop to $33.13.
Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) was raised to Neutral from Underperform with a $78 target price at Credit Suisse.
Denali Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: DNLI) was reiterated as Outperform with a $39 target price (versus a $31.61 prior close) at Wedbush, noting that its results were in line, along with a recent Biogen collaboration in Parkinson’s disease progressing toward late-stage studies.
Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE: EXK) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $5.25 from $3.25 (versus a $4.10 close) at H.C. Wainwright.
Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) closed up 3.35 at $135.06 on Friday. Citigroup reiterated it as Buy and raised its target price to $170 from $100.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $225 price target at Bernstein, with the firm expecting better residential pricing and an improved FedEx Ground profit margin.
GoHealth Inc. (NASDAQ: GOCO) has seen its quiet period end, with a 1.6% gain to $17.25 on Friday and a 2% gain to $17.50 on Monday. Truist started it as Buy with a $26 target price. Morgan Stanley started coverage at Equal Weight and with a $17 target price, and Cantor Fitzgerald started it as Overweight with a $26 target price.
Golden Star Resources Ltd. (NYSEARCA: GSS) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $6.75 from $5.25 (versus a $4.85 close) at H.C. Wainwright.
Kennametal Inc. (NYSE: KMT) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.
Livent Corp. (NYSE: LVNT) was reiterated as Neutral at Citigroup after earnings, but the target price was raised to $7.50 from $7.00 (versus a $7.09 close).
Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) was maintained as Outperform but its target price was lowered to $66 from $75 at Credit Suisse. Shares closed down 6.6% at $30.19 on Friday, with a $41.01 consensus target price.
nCino Inc. (NASDAQ: NCNO) was started with a Buy rating and a $95 price target (versus a $75.37 close) at Truist. BofA Securities started it as Buy with a $95 price objective. KeyBanc Capital Markets started it as Overweight with a $90 price target. Its shares were up over 3% at $77.75 on Monday morning.
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (NYSEARCA: NAK) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $3.50 from $2.75 (versus a $1.57 close) at H.C. Wainwright.
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NASDAQ: NLOK) closed up over 5% at $23.36 on Friday with a $23.92 consensus target price. Citigroup maintained its Neutral rating but raised its price target to $25 from $21.
Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities.
OraSure Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OSUR) was started with a Buy rating and an $18 target price (versus a $14.05 close) at Citigroup. The consensus target price is also $18.
Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the target price was raised to $44 from $34 (versus a $34.98 close) at Morgan Stanley.
Planet Fitness Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that gym membership has suffered and recovery will be tough for this one. Shares last closed at $50.94 and have a consensus price target of $68.38.
Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
Switch Inc. (NYSE: SWCH) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $23 from $22 (versus an $18.03 close, after a 2.75% drop) at Citigroup.
T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $130 from $120 (versus a $115.09 close) at Citigroup.
Verona Pharma PLC (NASDAQ: VRNA) was started with a Buy rating and a $17 price target (versus a $7.83 close, after a 12.8% gain) at Canaccord Genuity.
Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alteryx, Booking, CarGurus, Datadog, FedEx, First Solar, Uber Technologies, Vonage, Yeti and Zillow.
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