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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Altria, Boeing, Coca-Cola, GlaxoSmithKline, Halliburton, Kroger, Netflix and More
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The futures traded higher on Wednesday morning as investors prepare for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States. With fourth-quarter earnings reports starting to pour in, most across Wall Street will not only be examining the results, but also looking to see what guidance for the first quarter and the rest of 2021 looks like. With all the major indexes and the Russell 2000 still trading close to all-time highs, it makes sense for investors to start building some cash reserves while repositioning portfolios for 2021 as a pullback could be in the offing.
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, January 20, 2021.
Albertsons Companies Inc. (NYSE: ACI) was downgraded at Morgan Stanley from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $13 price target. The much higher Wall Street consensus target is $21, and Tuesday’s closing print came in at $17.79 per share.
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) was started with an Outperform rating and a $53 price target at Bernstein. The consensus target for the tobacco products behemoth is $47.79. The last trade on Tuesday came in at $41.23.
Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG Research. Shares of the plant-based food company have traded in a wide 52-week range of $48.18 to $197.50, and they have a consensus price objective of $115.94. The final trade for Tuesday came in at $141.64. The shares were down almost 3% in premarket action.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was raised to Hold from Sell at Berenberg, which also raised the price target on the aerospace giant to $215. The consensus target is $228.52, and Tuesday’s closing price was $210.71 a share.
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was started with an Outperform rating and a $58 price objective at Bernstein, The posted consensus target is $57, and shares were last seen on Tuesday at $48.51.
Domtar Corp. (NYSE: UFS) was raised to Buy from Hold at BofA Securities, which also lifted the price target to $40. That compares with the $35.61 consensus target and the close on Tuesday at $32.63.
Equity Residential Inc. (NYSE: EQR) was raised to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI. The real estate investment trust has traded in a 52-week range of $45.43 to $87.53 and has a consensus target of $59.83. The last trade on Tuesday hit the tape at $60.31.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse. The pharmaceutical giant’s shares have traded in a 52-week range of $31.43 to $48.25 and have a consensus price target of $48.50. The last trade on Tuesday came in at $38.54.
Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens, which also raised the price target on the oilfield services leader to $25. The lower $20.47 consensus is near Tuesday’s closing price of $20.54. Shares were trading up almost 3% in the premarket.
Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) was downgraded at Morgan Stanley from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $28 price target. The higher consensus target is $35.05. The shares closed at $33.62 on Tuesday.
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which also boosted the price target to $117. The consensus target is $109.56, and the shares were last seen Tuesday at $94.60, down over 11% on the day. The stock rebounded in premarket trading Wednesday morning.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) saw its target price raised to a Wall Street high of $750 from $660 at Pivotal Research Group. The analysts cited the better than expected fourth-quarter subscriber and financial results, conservative first subscriber guidance and a better than expected first-quarter financial forecast. UBS raised the shares to Buy from Neutral with a $650 target, while Wells Fargo moves the stock to an Overweight rating with a $700 target. The consensus price target for the streaming behemoth is $554.02. The stock closed Tuesday at $501.77, and shares were up almost 14% in premarket action.
NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS) was upgraded at JPMorgan to Neutral from Underweight, and the price target was raised to $17. The posted consensus target is $16.60. The final trade on Tuesday was reported at $15.89.
Penn National Gaming Inc. (NYSE: PENN) was started with an Outperform rating and a $128 price target at Credit Suisse. The consensus target for the gaming leader is a much lower $87.53. The stock was last seen trading at $100.42 on Tuesday.
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) was resumed in coverage at Goldman Sachs with a Buy rating and a $166 price objective. That compares with a consensus target of $144.89 and the close on Tuesday at $132.04.
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets. The analyst also lifted the price objective on the shares to $136, which is well above the $117.29 consensus target. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $113.21 a share.
ShockWave Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: SWAV) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler, but the analyst raised the price target to $132. The consensus target is lower at $105, and the stock closed trading on Tuesday at $142.05, up almost 4% on the day.
Zscaler Inc. (NYSE: ZS) was started with a Market Outperform rating and a $225 price target at JMP Securities. The consensus target is $211.52, and Tuesday’s final trade was recorded at $212.
Four top semiconductor capital equipment companies are executing well and still look to have very solid upside to the BofA Securities price targets.
Tuesday morning’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Airbnb, American Express, Arch Capital, Carlyle, Darden Restaurants, Facebook, Eli Lilly and Nio. Analyst calls made later in the day included McDonald’s, Qualcomm, Starbucks, Tesla and more.
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