After a solid start to December for the markets, the futures traded higher again Friday, despite the combination of a very mixed November jobs report and the news that Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered that some California regions will face stay-at-home orders when their hospital capacity shrinks to an alarmingly low level.
Many investors have missed out on the massive recovery in stocks since the panic that was seen earlier this year. Now the election noise is quieting down and a COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be available in the coming months. Investors need to decide how they want to be positioned heading into 2021.
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 Friday, December 4, 2020.
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Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL | AFL Price Prediction) was started with a Sell rating at Goldman Sachs. The insurer has traded in a 52-week range of $23.07 to $54.04 and has a Wall Street consensus price target of $43.50. The shares were last seen trading at $45.69.
Allegheny Technology Inc. (NYSE: ATI) was started with a Buy rating and a $21 price target at Benchmark. That compares with a consensus target of $10.14 and Thursday’s close at $15.49. Shares were up almost 5% in Friday’s premarket.
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: ADS) saw its target price raised to $105 from $70 at Goldman Sachs, which kept a Buy rating on the shares. That compares with a consensus target of $72 and Thursday’s closing price of $82.45.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) saw its target price raised to $41 from $36 at Goldman Sachs, where the stock is rated Buy. The consensus price target is set at $35.31. Thursday’s last trade was reported at $31.17.
Bill.com Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BILL) was started with a Buy rating and a $170 price target at Wolfe Research. The consensus target price is $118.82, and the final trade on Thursday was posted at $118.96.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe Research. Shares of the aerospace giant have traded between $89 and $354.40 over the past 52 weeks, and they close at $237.35 on Thursday, after a solid 6% gain on the day. The stock continued higher in the premarket.
Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that apparel retailers are just hanging on until 2021. Shares last closed at $1.65 and have a consensus price target of $1.67.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Telsey Advisory Group, which has a $165 target price on the casual dining and retail giant. The consensus price target is $143.14, and the last trade on Thursday came in at $144.58.
Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the heavy equipment maker is back for 2021. Shares most recently closed at $252.68 and have a consensus price target of $283.18.
Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim. The 52-week trading range for the satellite and streaming content provider is $17.09 to $42.62. The consensus price target is $41.37, well above Thursday’s close at $37.17.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) saw its target price at Goldman Sachs raised from $297 to $345. The stock remains Buy rated, and the consensus target is $295.56. The stock closed Thursday at $292.70.
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Fortive Corp. (NYSE: FTV) was started with a Buy rating and an $83 price target at UBS. The consensus target is $73.93, and the last trade for Thursday came in at $68.83.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Summit Insights. The 52-week trading range is $16.45 to $47.21, and the consensus target is $48.13. With the shares closing Thursday at $45.52, this looks like a valuation call.
MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) was started with a Neutral rating and a $48 price target at Goldman Sachs. That compares with a $49.55 consensus price objective and Thursday’s close at $47.71 per share.
Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital, which also has a $104 price objective. The $88.65 consensus target price is above the most recent close at $81.56.
Prudential Inc. (NYSE: PRU) was started with a Buy rating and an $88 price objective at Goldman Sachs. That compares with a lower $74.09 consensus target and Thursday’s final trade of $78.87
Sage Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SAGE) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Mizuho, which also raised its price target to $81. The consensus target is $95.89. The stock closed Thursday at $68.86, and shares were up in Friday’s premarket action.
Stitch Fix Inc. (NASDAQ: SFIX) was downgraded to Sell at MKM Partners. The 52-week trading range is $10.90 to $42.38. The consensus target is $33.89, and the shares closed at $38.06, down almost 4% on Thursday. The analysts’ consensus opinion appears to be the stock has run too far, too fast.
Teladoc Health Inc. (NASDAQ: TDOC) was started with a Neutral rating at Goldman Sachs. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $75.20 to $253, and they have a consensus price objective of $247.20. The final trade on Thursday came in at $197.21.
Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA) was started with a Buy rating and a $430 price objective at UBS. The consensus target is much lower at $341.67. The final print Thursday was reported at $372.37.
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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included CrowdStrike, Equinix, JPMorgan, Lyft, Snowflake, Splunk, Tesla, Xpeng and Zscaler.
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