The indexes all managed to bounce handily on Wednesday after three solid days of selling, but stocks were indicated to open with some light losses of 0.2% or so on Thursday. Many investors missed the recovery as the recession forced them out of the market, and those all-time highs remain puzzling to much of Main Street. 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 with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls 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 Thursday, September 10, 2020.
Akero Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRO) was started as Overweight with a $70 target price (versus a $34.17 prior close) at Morgan Stanley.
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American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO | AEO Price Prediction) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $15 from $13 (versus a $13.41 prior close) at Raymond James. It had a $13.97 consensus target price ahead of the call.
BigCommerce Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BIGC) was down 4% at $91.50 ahead of earnings and the high valuation after guidance and the report had shares down another 4.4% at $87.50. Canaccord Genuity maintained it as Hold and lowered its target price to $90 from $125.
Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL) was raised to Buy from Hold and its price target was raised to $254 from $213 (versus a $209.88 prior close) at Jefferies.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was started with a Buy rating and a $55 target price at MKM Partners. Exxon closed down 0.6% at $37.95 the prior day, with a $47.64 consensus target price.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $260 from $215 at Stephens. Shares closed up 2% at $225.75, and the consensus price target was $212.50. Turnaround investors have been licking their lips over FedEx since mid-summer.
Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE: HWM) was raised to Overweight from Underweight and its target price was raised to $22 from $13 at Barclays.
Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) issued a business update on Wednesday and closed at $185.47. Raymond James reiterated its Strong Buy rating and raised its price target to $210 from $183. Its consensus target price had been $176.72, and the railroad had been subject to takeover rumors from private equity in recent weeks.
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Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN) was started with a Buy rating and an $80 price target at Rosenblatt. Shares closed up 5.1% at $58.15 and were indicated up 6% at $61.50 on Thursday morning. The stock had a $54.91 consensus target price.
Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup. Shares closed up 1.7% at $61.93, and the consensus target price was $58.77.
Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE: RKT) was started as Neutral with a $24 price target (versus a $23.39 prior close) at Wedbush Securities.
Sanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $139 price target (versus a $121.62 prior close) at Goldman Sachs. The stock was indicated up almost 2% at $124.00 on Thursday, and its consensus target price was $137.63 ahead of this call.
Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and its target price was lowered to $48 from $53 (versus a $52.85 prior close) at Mizuho.
Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and its target price was raised to $315 from $215 at Credit Suisse.
Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIL) closed up 43% at $13.59 after positive drug study news and an investment from Pfizer. H.C. Wainwright raised the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $16.50 price target.
Ultra Clean Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UCTT) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the stock offers a value and growth opportunity after a big sell-off. Shares closed most recently at $19.33 and have a consensus price target of $33.60.
Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that there is rough terrain ahead for the company as winter approaches. Shares last closed at $218.90 but have a consensus price target of only $211.27.
Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) was up 0.7% at $134.19 ahead of earnings but was last seen down 1.2% at $132.50 afterward. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target to $160 from $150. Morgan Stanley maintained it as Equal Weight and raised the $104 target to $123.
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Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Aramark, Coupa Software, DraftKings, Duke Energy, eGain, FedEx, Illumina, Lululemon Athletica, Nikola, Slack Technologies and Vroom.
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