The futures were slightly lower on Friday morning, after another day of record highs on Wall Street for all three of the major indexes, as well as continued investor exuberance over the COVID-19 vaccine and the prospects for additional government stimulus. With today being the final options expiration for 2020, and the potential for big portfolio rebalancing and share sales next week, investors should be reviewing portfolios and adjusting positioning for 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 18, 2020.
Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) was started with a Positive rating and a $180 price objective at Susquehanna. The much lower Wall Street consensus target is $104.33. The last trade on Thursday hit the tape at $147.07, after a more than 6% gain. The stock was up an additional 4% in premarket action.
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Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY | NLY Price Prediction) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette. The price target for the stock is $9, and the consensus target is $8.63. Shares closed Thursday at $8.41.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets. The 52-week trading range for the stock has been $3.71 to $27.84. No consensus price target was available, and the shares closed Thursday at $9.73.
Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the company’s outlook remains strong and shares rest about 10% below their October records. Plus, the hard seltzer revolution is still in its early days. Shares most recently closed at $958.37 and have a consensus price target of $1,041.62.
Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI, which kept the price target set at $145. It compares with a $128.59 target and Thursday’s close at $130.96.
Core Laboratories N.V. (NYSE: CLB) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at JPMorgan, which actually raised the price objective to $18. The consensus price target is up at $21.92, Thursday’s closing price was $25.77. That close was down almost 10% for the day, and the shares were lower again in the premarket.
DoorDash Inc. (NASDAQ: DASH) was started with a Positive rating and a $180 price objective at Susquehanna. That compares with a much lower $150 price target and Thursday’s close of $154.21. Shares were lower in the premarket.
Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) was raised from Neutral to Overweight a $60 price objective at JPMorgan. The consensus target is $51.83. The final trade Thursday was reported at $53.83.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) saw its target price raised at Cowen from $328 to $335, which is versus the consensus target for the company of $314.50. The last trade Thursday was reported at $292.26.
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Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) was downgraded from Overweight to Neutral with a $17 price objective at JPMorgan. The post consensus target is $18.25, which compares with a Thursday closing price of $17.81.
Heartland Financial USA Inc. (NASDAQ: HTLF) is raised to Buy from Neutral at D.A. Davidson, which also boosted the price objective to $49. The posted consensus price target is $44.50. The shares were last seen trading at $41.71.
Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) was resumed in coverage at Jefferies, where the analysts have set the price objective for the retailer at $47. The consensus target is $33.50. Thursday’s final trade was reported at $38.96.
Live Person Inc. (NASDAQ: LPSN) was started with a Buy rating and a $73 price objective at Rosenblatt. The consensus target is $68.93, and the stock was last seen at $59.81, up almost 4% on Thursday. Shares were 2% higher in the premarket.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) was resumed at Jefferies with a Buy rating and a $14 price target. The consensus price target for the venerable retailer is $7.83. The last trade on Thursday was reported at $10.42.
Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) was raised from Neutral to Buy an $82 price target at Crespi & Hardt. The software giant has a consensus target of $65.90. The stock closed Thursday at $63.61 a share.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, which also raised the price target to $17. That compares with a $14.33 consensus target and Thursday’s close of $27.23 per share.
Revolve Group Inc. (NYSE: RVLV) was started with a Buy rating and a $41 price objective at BTIG Research. The consensus target is only $24.93, which is below Thursday’s $29.26 closing print.
Root Inc. (NASDAQ: ROOT) was started with a Neutral rating and a $13 price objective at Credit Suisse. The consensus target is $23.73, and the last trade on Thursday came in at $14.14.
ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA Securities, though the firm raised its price objective to $32. The consensus is $29.28. The shares were last seen trading at $36.20 apiece.
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The defense sector remains a good place to keep capital in growth portfolios, and a new Goldman Sachs research report includes some top defense picks for 2021.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AT&T, Boeing, ConocoPhillips, Gilead Sciences, Illumina, Lam Research, Raytheon Technologies and Yum Brands.
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