Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: ADM, AMC, CarMax, Chevron, Exxon, GoodRx, Laird, Snap, Starbucks, Tesla and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: October 19, 2020 9:02 am

Last Updated: October 19, 2020 9:34 am

Stocks were hanging on to small gains on Monday, with futures indicating a 0.7% gain in the S&P 500 and a 0.5% gain in the Dow Jones industrials. This is the week that the floodgates open wide for earnings season, and everyone will be paying close attention to the guidance for the rest of 2020. Though many investors missed out on the recovery since late March, many key leadership stocks have pulled back from their highs to 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 Monday, October 19, 2020.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that investors are staying away from this horror show. Shares last closed at $3.04 and have a consensus price target of $3.93.

AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) was started with a Buy rating and a $113 price target at Seaport Global. Shares closed up 0.7% at $93.74 on Friday and have a $118.83 consensus target price.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was maintained as Overweight but the price target was cut to $105 from $108 (versus a $72.89 prior close) at Morgan Stanley. Chevron’s consensus price target was $96.79.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was maintained as Equal Weight and its price target was cut to $44 from $46 at Morgan Stanley.

GoodRx Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: GDRX) Initiated at Market Perform by Raymond James. RBC Capital Markets started it as Sector Perform, Barclays started it as Equal Weight and JPMorgan started it as Neutral. Morgan Stanley started coverage as Overweight with a $57 target price, and SVB Leerink started coverage at Outperform with a $61 price target.

Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) was started with a Buy rating at Citigroup.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HST) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $205 target price (versus a $179.01 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Laird Superfood Inc. (NYSE: LSFT) was started with a Buy rating and a $57 price target (versus a $49.17 close) at Roth Capital.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $131 price target at Morgan Stanley. The stock closed down 0.4% at $110.81 ahead of the call, with a $119.24 consensus target price.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was reiterated as Overweight and its target price was raised to $35 from $29 (versus a $27.83 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was reiterated as Neutral but its target price was raised to $88 from $81 at Wedbush Securities. Starbucks closed down 0.3% at $88.52 a share on Friday, and it has an $85.84 consensus target price.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was maintained as Neutral but its target price was raised to $500 from $475 at Wedbush Securities. Tesla closed down 2% at $439.67 on Friday, with a $309.55 consensus price target.

United Natural Foods Inc. (NYSE: UNFI) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that improving sales and debt make this stock undervalued. Shares of most recently closed at $19.49 and have a consensus price target of $23.25.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

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Five stocks trading under $10 were given big upside price targets last week.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AGCO, Caterpillar, Chewy, Clorox, Costco Wholesale, First Solar, Netflix, Snap, Starbucks and Wynn Resorts.