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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AT&T, Airbnb, Boeing, Chubb, C3.ai, DoorDash, Expedia, Goldman Sachs, McDonald's and More

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The futures traded higher on Monday morning as traders and analysts return to work for the first trading week of 2021. With year-end selling and portfolio window dressing and rebalancing likely over, we should start to see a pick-up in normal daily trading volume. Investors should be reviewing portfolios very closely now and making adjustments in positioning now that we are in 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 Monday, January 4, 2021.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was upgraded at Raymond James from Market Perform to Outperform with a $32 price target. That compares to the Wall Street $31.14 consensus target and the most recent closing print of $28.76. Shares were higher in Monday’s premarket.

Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) was raised to Outperform from Inline at Evercore ISI, where the analysts have a $625 price objective. The consensus target is much lower at $472.21. The stock ended last week at $534.18.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) had one of a slew of red-hot initial public offerings in 2020, and the quiet period ended today for it and three other high-profile companies. These initiations were seen so far:

  • BofA Securities with a Neutral rating and a $158 target
  • JMP Securities with a Neutral rating and a $160 target
  • Goldman Sachs with a Neutral rating and a $143 target
  • Jefferies as a Buy with a $170 price objective
  • Needham with a Buy rating and a street-high $200 target
  • Stifel at Hold with a $130 target
  • Credit Suisse with a Neutral rating and a $156 target
  • Baird with an Outperform rating
  • Wells Fargo at Equal Weight with a $160 target

Airbnb shares last closed at $146.80 and were higher in premarket action.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) was upgraded at Barclays from Equal Weight to Overweight with a $48 target. That compares with a consensus target of $38.94. The stock closed at $35.66.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Bernstein, which also dropped the price target to $199. The consensus target is much higher at $230.74. The most recent closing print was $214.06.

Chubb Ltd. (NYSE: CB) was downgraded at JPMorgan from Overweight to Neutral with a $155 price target. The consensus target is $159.22, and the stock closed at $153.92.

Churchill Downs Inc. (NASDAQ: CHDN) was started with a Buy rating and a $235 price objective at BofA Securities. The consensus target is $199.33. The most recent close was at $184.79 per share.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets, which has a $55 price target for the beverage behemoth. The consensus target is higher at $57.24. The shares last closed at $54.84.

Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this outdoor apparel firm has seen its sales fall over the last three quarters. Shares last closed at $87.38 and have a consensus price target of $92.00.

C3.aiI Inc. (NYSE: AI) had another blockbuster IPO and joins the coverage party today:

  • JMP Securities with a Market Outperform rating and a $167 target
  • BofA Securities as Neutral with a $170 target price
  • Piper Sandler at Overweight with a $166 target price
  • Needham with a Buy rating and a street-high $193 target
  • Morgan Stanley with an Underweight rating and a $100
  • JPMorgan also at Underweight but with an $84 target

The stock last closed at $138.75 and was about 3% lower in the premarket.

DoorDash Inc. (NASDAQ: DASH) was the other sizzling IPO that joins the coverage party today:

  • BofA Securities with a Neutral rating and a $157 target
  • Goldman Sachs at Neutral with a $135 target price
  • William Blair with an Outperform rating
  • Needham with a Buy rating and another street-high target of $200
  • JPMorgan at Neutral with a $160 price target
  • JMP as a Market Outperform with a $185 price objective
  • Piper Sandler with a Neutral rating and a $150 target

The shares closed at $142.75 and were slightly lower in premarket action.

Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities, which has a $153 price objective. That compares with the much lower $117.17 consensus target and last week’s final trade at $132.40.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, which has a $362 price objective for the Wall Street powerhouse. The posted consensus target is $275.48. The shares closed at $263.71.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) was raised from Sector Perform to an Outperform rating with a $478 price target at RBC Capital Markets. The consensus target is $469.38. Shares closed at $410.27.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) was started with a Neutral rating at Citigroup, which set a $230 price target for the fast-food giant. The consensus target is $241.92, and last week’s final print was $214.58.

Mimecast Ltd. (NASDAQ: MIME) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets, though the firm did raise the price target to $58. The consensus target is $54.56. The stock was last seen at $56.84.

Molson Coors Beverage Co. (NYSE: TAP) was raised from Hold to Buy a $57 price objective at Jefferies. The consensus target is $45.69. The shares were last seen at $45.19.

PubMatic Inc. (NASDAQ: PUBM) had the last of the four IPOs that blazed near the end of 2020 to receive coverage starting today:

  • Oppenheimer with an Outperform rating
  • RBC Capital Markets also with an Outperform rating, as well as a $34 price target
  • KeyBanc Capital Markets as Overweight with a $36 price objective
  • JMP Securities with an Outperform rating
  • Jefferies with a Buy rating and a street-high $38 target.

The stock closed last at $27.96, and shares were about 2% higher in the premarket.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR) was started with a Buy rating and a $74 price objective at Citigroup. That compares with the $70.50 consensus target and the most recent close at $61.11.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that investors who missed out on the run last year shouldn’t be discouraged because the e-commerce age is just getting started. Shares most recently closed at $1,131.95 and have a consensus price target of $1,127.91.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) was raised to Buy from Hold at Pivotal Research Group, which also lifted the price target to $20. That compares with a consensus target of $14.37. The stock ended the week at $17.17.

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The top analyst upgrades and downgrades on New Year’s Eve included Activision Blizzard, Alphabet, ConocoPhillips, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Northern Oil and Gas, Shopify, Tesla and Weibo.

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