The futures were slightly higher Monday morning as investors look forward to another slow week on Wall Street in anticipation of the Labor Day holiday weekend. With the big Tesla and Apple stock splits taking effect today, and with both presidential conventions out of the way, the big push before the election begins now.
Many investors missed the recovery as the recession forced them out of the market. Investors also have been looking for new ideas for how to be positioned in the rest 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.
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 31, 2020.
Aspen Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: AZPN) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that all the intersection of big data, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things makes this tech company a competitor. Shares most recently closed at $127.96 and have a consensus price target of $134.40.
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AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T | T Price Prediction) was downgraded to Sector Underperform from Sector Perform at Scotiabank. The Wall Street consensus price target for the communications and entertainment giant is $32.46. The last trade on Friday came in at $30.04. Shares actually traded higher in Monday’s premarket.
Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Citigroup. The shares have traded in a wide 52-week range of $48.18 to $169.31. The consensus target for the company that makes plant-based meat is $120.31. The shares ended trading on Friday at $131.02.
BigCommerce Inc. (NASDAQ: BIGC) was started with a Hold rating at Jefferies and a $130 price target. Barclays has an Equal Weight rating and a $128 target. Truist Securities comes in with a Hold rating and a $132 target, while Raymond James has a Market Perform rating and Morgan Stanley an Underweight rating with a stunning $52 target. The company had a recent red-hot initial public offering and shares closed Friday at $130.98.
Cedar Fair L.P. (NYSE: FUN) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that amusement parks have seen a devastating impact from the pandemic. Shares last closed at $31.45 and have a consensus price target of $34.56.
Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE: LEU) was started with a Buy rating and an $18 target at Roth Capital. No consensus target was posted. The shares closed Friday at $10.99.
Chefs Warehouse Inc. (NASDAQ: CHEF) was started with a Hold rating and an $18 target at Loop Capital. That compares to a consensus target of $19. The stock closed Friday at $16.76.
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Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: HR) was raised from Outperform to Strong Buy with a $35 price target at Raymond James. That compares to the consensus target of $31.10. The last trade Friday hit the tape at $28.51.
Healthcare Trust of America Inc. (NYSE: HTA) was raised from Market Perform to Outperform with a $29 target at Raymond James. That compares to the $29.50 consensus target and Friday’s closing price of $26.15 a share.
Infusystem Holdings Inc. (NYSE: INFU) was started with a Buy rating and a $28 price objective at Craig Hallum. That compares with the $20 consensus target. The last trade on Friday came in at $14.13.
Intevac Inc. (NASDAQ: IVAC) was started with an Outperform rating and an $11 price target at Northland Capital. The consensus target is much lower at $7.75. The stock closed at $6.01 on Friday.
NeoPhotonics Corp. (NYSE: NPTN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham. The shares closed Friday at $6.92.
OakStreet Health Inc. (NYSE: OSH) was started with a Buy rating and a $56 target at Truist. JPMorgan has an Overweight rating and a $52 price objective. This was another successful recent IPO, and the shares closed Friday at $45.41.
Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim, which has a $37 price target. The consensus target is $36.89, and shares closed on Friday at $31.44 apiece.
Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE: RKT) saw multiple initiations across Wall Street as the post-IPO quiet period ended. BofA Securities started the shares with a Buy rating and a $32 target. Citigroup has a Buy rating and a $35 target price. Goldman Sachs started it at Neutral with a $27 target, and RBC Capital Markets started it with an Outperform rating and a $32 target. The consensus target price is $18.00, and the stock closed most recently at $28.42.
T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) was started with a Sector Outperform rating and a $148 price target at Scotiabank. That compares to the consensus of $132, and a Friday close of $116.26 per share.
Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The consensus price target is $210.75, and the shares closed Friday at $225.28.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at R5 Capital. The retail giant’s shares have traded between $102 and $141.10 over the past 52 weeks and have a consensus target of $144.13. The stock closed at $140.30 on Friday. The shares were down almost 3% in premarket trading.
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Jefferies has 10 recommended stock picks for growth investors for the rest of the year and beyond.
Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Bill.com, Dell Technologies, Dollar General, DraftKings, Gap, HP, Marvell Technology, Okta, Ulta Beauty and Workday.
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