Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alexion, Amazon, Diageo, eBay, Etsy, Home Depot, MGIC, Netflix, Sirius XM, Vir Bio and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: October 7, 2020 9:04 am

Last Updated: October 7, 2020 9:19 am

Stocks fell on Tuesday after President Trump called off stimulus negotiations late in the day. His move to call for a direct stimulus package rather than the larger plan offered a bounce for Wednesday. While many investors missed out on the recovery from late in March, there are many of the key leadership stocks that are down significantly from their highs and at more attractive entry points.

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 seen on Wednesday, October 7, 2020.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) shares closed up 0.7% at $116.08 on Tuesday after the company raised its guidance. Wedbush Securities reiterated its Outperform rating with a $156 price target. The consensus target price is $142.00.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was reiterated at Buy and its price target was raised to $3,800 from $3,675 at Benchmark. The stock closed down 3.1% at $3,099.96 on Tuesday but was indicated up 1% at $3,138 on Wednesday. It has a $3,725.31 consensus price target.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with an $18 price target at Barclays. The stock closed down 3.8% at $14.86 on Tuesday but was indicated up about 3.4% at $15.35 on Wednesday. Its consensus price target was $15.50 ahead of the call.

Anaplan Inc. (NYSE: PLAN) was started as Hold at Jefferies.

Diageo PLC (NYSE: DEO) was raised to Buy from Underperform and its price target was raised to $164 from $109 (versus a $138.33 prior close) at Jefferies.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $70 from $69 (versus a $49.66 close) at Benchmark. Shares were down 4% on Tuesday, but they were indicated up almost 1% on Wednesday.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) was reiterated as Outperform with a $155 price target (versus a $134.56 close) at Wedbush. It had a $152.53 consensus price target.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $39 target price (versus a $36.55 close) at Barclays. The stock was indicated up 2.6% at $37.50 on Wednesday, and its consensus price target was $32.78.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this company hit its peak sales and profitability in 2014 and has since been on the decline. Shares last closed at $26.77 and have a consensus price target of $31.64.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $300 from $295 at Morgan Stanley. The shares closed down 2% at $276.47 apiece on Tuesday but were indicated up 1% at $279.30 on Wednesday. The consensus price target was $302.55.

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this is one of the largest suppliers of electronic manufacturing services globally and its stock has even more upside. Shares most recently closed at $34.86 and have a consensus price target of $44.20.

24/7 Wall St.
Holiday Shopping Season Has Begun: 5 Large-Cap Retail Winners to Buy Now

JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) was raised to Overweight from Underweight with a new $17 price target at JPMorgan, based on an upbeat longer-term forecast for the air carrier. The stock was indicated up 6% at $12.20 a share on Wednesday, and its consensus target price was $12.93.

MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. Shares closed up 0.8% at $9.93 ahead of the call, and they have a $12.43 consensus price target.

Molson Coors Beverage Co. (NYSE: TAP) was reiterated as Buy and it was named to the Best Idea list of stocks at Guggenheim. After closing down three cents at $34.92 a share on Tuesday, the stock was indicated up almost 2% at $35.60 on Wednesday. The consensus price target is $43.81.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $650 at Pivotal Research.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) was downgraded Underweight from Equal Weight with a $58 target price (versus a $61.64 close) at Barclays. It had a $67.53 consensus price target.

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. Shares closed up 3.5% at $16.79 ahead of the call and have a $21.91 consensus price target.

Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was last seen trading up over 4% at $5.79 on news that it is about to sign a new deal with Howard Stern and that it was increasing its dividend. Credit Suisse upgraded it to Outperform from Neutral and raised its price target was to $7.50 from $6.25, based on surprisingly better than expected results.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. After closing down 2.3% at $37.58 on Tuesday, its stock was up 2% at $38.35 on Wednesday.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its target price was raised to $52 from $44 at JPMorgan. The stock closed down 3.6% at $34.88 on Tuesday and was indicated up over 4.5% at $36.50 on Wednesday.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $26 price target (versus a $22.82 close) at Barclays.

Vir Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ: VIR) was up 6.1% at $41.50 on Tuesday after expanding a Phase 3 COVID-19 trial with GlaxoSmithKline. H.C. Wainwright reiterated it as Buy and raised its price target to $100 from $80.

Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (NYSE: VSH) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $20 target price (versus a $16.19 close) at Stifel.

24/7 Wall St.
The 25 People Most Likely to Affect the Presidential Election

While 2020 has been pretty much a nightmare for retail, the holidays are now starting to come into view and shoppers are already looking for bargains. BofA Securities has five retail stocks rated Buy that have the exposure it expects to win now.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Bill.com, Boeing, Costco, Dicks Sporting Goods, Generac, Proofpoint, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Shopify.