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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Bed Bath & Beyond, Booking, Carvana, EA, EOG, Honeywell, ICE, Livongo, Nucor, Seres, Sunrun and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: August 11, 2020 9:12 am

Last Updated: August 11, 2020 10:34 am

The S&P 500 was indicated to open up about 0.6% higher and the Dow Jones industrials up about 1.0% on Tuesday. The S&P 500 is now very close to recapturing its all-time highs, and money has been rotating into the recovery stocks away from the key technology drivers that have thrived during the recession. Earnings season has now peaked and many investors feel as though they may have missed out on the recovery rally. This will send those investors to look 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 Tuesday, August 11, 2020.

ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXO) was started as Overweight with a $55 target at Piper Sandler, and Credit Suisse started it as Outperform with a $53 target. Jefferies started it as Buy with a $50 target price.

Amicus Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FOLD) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $20 from $15 at Citigroup.

Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (NASDAQ: BECN) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was reiterated as Outperform with a $15 target price (versus a $12.66 prior close) at Wedbush Securities. The firm noted that positive sales momentum adds confidence for the company to make up to $300 million in debt repurchases.

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $2,050 from $1,900 (versus a $1,768.58 close) at Citigroup.

Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $240 from $120 (versus a $190.12 close) at Citigroup.

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $700 from $615 (versus a $602.34 close) at Citigroup.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $165 from $150 (versus $140.70 close) at Needham.

EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $64 from $60 (versus a $50.46 close) at Raymond James.

Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPR) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and its price target was lowered to $158 from $166 (versus a $159.43 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $115 from $108 (versus a $99.16 close) at Citigroup.

Johnson Controls International PLC (NYSE: JCI) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform and its target price was raised to $46 from $36 (versus a $40.10 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Livongo Health Inc. (NASDAQ: LVGO) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $170 from $125 (versus a $121.41 close) at Citigroup.

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Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus.

ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ON) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $35 from $30 (versus a $21.92 close) at Rosenblatt.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy but its target price was raised to $34 from $28 (versus a $36.25 close) at Deutsche Bank.

Pandion Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PAND) was started with a Buy rating and a $28 price target (versus an $18.78 close) at Goldman Sachs.

PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Seaport Global, and Citigroup reiterated its Neutral rating and raised its target to $30 from $25. Shares closed up over 5.5% at $28.65 on Monday, with a $29.04 consensus target price.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that homebuilders are one of the hottest industries in America in 2020. Shares most recently closed at $45.16 and have a consensus price target of $45.77.

Seaworld Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: SEAS) was reiterated as Neutral with a $16 target at Wedbush, and Janney reiterated its Neutral rating with a fair value estimate of $18.

Seres Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MCRB) closed up nearly 400% at $22.70 on massive trading volume on news of its C. diff drug. Jefferies upgraded it to Buy from Hold and raised its target price to $29 from $4. Chardan Capital reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $32.50 from $12.50.

SP Plus Corp. (NASDAQ: SP) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that when you stay at home you don’t park in a parking garage. Shares last closed at $16.22 and have a consensus price target of $34.00.

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) was reiterated as Overweight and its target price was raised to $52 from $32 (versus a $47.28 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The consensus target price was $35.33.

Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Vivint Smart Home Inc. (NYSE: VVNT) was started as Equal Weight with a $19 target price (versus an $18.46 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Vivint Solar Inc. (NYSE: VSLR) was reiterated as Overweight and its target price was raised to $29 from $18 (versus a $25.91 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) was reiterated as Sell but the price target was raised to $225 from $130 (versus a $298.00 close) at Citigroup.

The huge move in tech stocks has dominated the stock market over the past few years, but the overconcentration by investors is putting up red flags. The underperformance on Monday on the Nasdaq could be just the beginning of a rotation of capital, and five BofA Securities US 1 stocks may be good ideas for those looking to book tech profits and seek the next wave of upside in the market.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Albermarle, Apple, Consolidated Edison, Etsy, GoHealth, Hecla Mining, NortonLifeLock, Pinterest, Switch and T-Mobile.