Investing

Apple, Bed Bath & Beyond, First Solar, Snap and More Thursday Afternoon Analyst Calls

Chris Lange

Published: January 28, 2021 11:57 am

With the trading day about halfway over, the broad markets were making a handy recovery on Thursday. The S&P 500 was up close to 1.6% and the Dow Jones industrial average saw a gain closer to 1.8%. Although the Nasdaq was still up, it lagged, up roughly 1%.

24/7 Wall St. is looking at some big analyst calls that we have seen so far on Thursday. We have included the most recent analyst call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the general consensus among analysts.

For those that might have missed it, 24/7 Wall St. had an earlier round of analyst calls on Thursday that included American Express, eBay, Tesla, Twitter and more.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated with a Buy rating and its price target was raised to $155 from $150 at Canaccord Genuity. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a Buy rating and hiked its price target to $170 from $144. Needham reiterated a Buy rating and raised its price target to $170 from $140. The stock was last seen at $139.83, in a 52-week range of $53.15 to $145.09. The consensus price target is $136.17.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Telsey Advisory Group with a $40 price target. BofA Securities downgraded it from Buy to Neutral with a $55 price target. The stock was trading at $32.39, in a 52-week trading range of $3.43 to $53.90. The consensus price target is $26.29.

DuPont de Nemours Inc. (NYSE: DD) was downgraded from Outperform to Neutral with an $83 price target at Exane BNP Paribas. The consensus price target is $80.20. Shares traded at $79.97, in the 52-week range of $28.33 to $87.27.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA Securities. The shares traded at $102.53, within its 52-week range of $28.47 to $112.50. Analysts have a consensus price target of $87.29.

iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Northland Capital, but its price target was raised to $120 from $100. The consensus target is $92.20. The stock traded at $125.84, in a 52-week range of $32.79 to $197.40.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $141 price target at Stifel. The stock was up about 2% to $131.04 a share on Thursday. The 52-week range is $94.34 to $146.92. The consensus price target is $151.05.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was reiterated with an Outperform rating and its price target was raised to $57 from $42 at Evercore ISI. The stock traded at $53.87 and has a consensus price target of $50.49. The 52-week trading range is $7.89 to $57.39.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and its price target was dropped to $7.25 from $7.50 at Credit Suisse. The stock was last seen at $6.61, and it has a consensus target of $7.18. The 52-week trading range is $4.11 to $8.14.

United Natural Foods Inc. (NYSE: UNFI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Northcoast. The stock was trading at $27.00, in a 52-week range of $5.00 to $32.18. The consensus price target is $22.33.

ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) was downgraded by Credit Suisse to Underperform from Neutral, but its price target was raised to $37 from $28. Shares traded at $49.30, in a 52-week range of $10.10 to $60.73. The consensus price target is $34.32.

Some analysts believe Microsoft is a screaming buy after its most recent earnings report.

Note that short interest in Apple and Tesla have doubled in the past year, while at Microsoft it has tumbled. Short sellers are piling on the big U.S. automakers too.

Five top energy stocks rated Buy at BofA Securities pay solid dividends, are attractively priced and may be outstanding contrarian ideas now, despite the new administration’s initiatives on climate change.