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Tuesday Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Campbell Soup, Exact Sciences, Exelixis, Spirit Airlines, Sarepta, ZTO and More

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Tuesday’s futures were fairly positive after a somewhat mixed start to the week. The Nasdaq was the only major index with a significant gain on Monday, leaving the rest in the dust thanks to a rally in large-cap tech stocks. Bitcoin surged higher as well, breaking through $40,000. At the same time, crude oil was continuing its push, this time hanging just below $72 a barrel.

Despite the resurfacing concerns across Wall Street for tapering of the quantitative easing program and a clear building of inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. That could be one reason for the continued moves higher in the equity markets, even after sell-offs. Also note that money markets continue to see massive inflows, which is another big plus.

With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction across the board, it makes sense for investors to continue building some cash reserves into the market strength while repositioning portfolios for the coming quarter and the rest of 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 Tuesday, June 15, 2021.

Aclaris Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ACRS): Piper Sandler started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $30 price target. The stock last closed near $18 a share, in a 52-week range of $1.41 to $30.38. The consensus price target is $32.75.

ADC Therapeutics S.A. (NYSE: ADCT): Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $13 price target. The stock closed on Monday near $23, and it has a 52-week range of $20.01 to $56.59.

Allegheny Tech Inc. (NYSE: ATI): JPMorgan resumed coverage with a Neutral rating but raised the price target to $25 from $10. The consensus price target is $22.89, and the stock closed at around $23 per share. The 52-week trading range is $8.04 to $25.04.

AvroBio Inc. (NASDAQ: AVRO): BTIG Research started coverage with a Buy rating and a $23 price target. Shares closed Monday near $9 apiece, in a 52-week range of $7.45 to $22.54. The consensus price target is $24.50.

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB): This processed foods giant was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day. The analyst points out that, in a low-margin business, wholesale price increases hurt revenue and earnings expectations. Shares last closed at $45.82 and have a consensus price target of $49.48.

Cemex SAB de C.V. (NYSE: CX): Berenberg resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $10 price target. The stock was last seen trading near $8. The consensus analyst target is $9.62. The 52-week trading range is $2.61 to $8.91.

Crane Co. (NYSE: CR): The D.A. Davidson upgrade to Buy from Neutral and included a price target hike to $110 from $105. The stock closed near $91, in a 52-week range of $48.19 to $99.93. Analysts have a consensus price target of $112.00 for the stock.

Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS): Raymond James started it with a Strong Buy rating and a $160 price target. The stock recently closed at $125 a share, which was within a 52-week range of $70.75 to $159.54. The consensus price target is 156.89.


Exelixis Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL): H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $47 price target. The stock recently closed near $23 a share, in a 52-week range of $18.18 to $27.35. Analysts have a consensus price target of $31.15.

Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ: FAST): Morgan Stanley downgraded its Equal Weight rating to Underweight and cut the price target to $48 from $53. The stock closed near $53, in a 52-week range of $40.44 to $54.32. The consensus price target is $51.88.

Magenta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MGTA): BTIG Research started coverage with a Buy rating and a $20 price target. The consensus price target is $19.25. The stock has a 52-week range of $6.03 to $14.20 and recently closed near $11 a share.

MGM Growth Properties LLC (NYSE: MGP): Wolfe Research initiated coverage with a Peer Perform rating and a $43 price target. The stock was last seen around $37, in a 52-week range of $25.01 to $37.64. The consensus price target is $38.79.

Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL): Zacks named this as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst said that there’s no end in sight for the increased revenues and profits at the country’s largest distributor of pool supplies and equipment. The stock most recently closed at $430.96 and has a consensus price target of $463.38.

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT): BTIG Research initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $110 price target. The shares last closed near $86, and the consensus price target is $133.71.

Selecta Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: SELB): BTIG Research initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $10 price target. The stock most recently closed at $5.01 and has a consensus price target of $7.86.

Spirit Airlines Inc. (NYSE: SAVE): Citigroup’s upgrade to Buy rating Neutral came with a price target hike to $42 from $40. The stock most recently closed near $34 and has a consensus price target of $42.35.

ZTO Express Inc. (NYSE: ZTO): Macquarie resumed coverage with a Neutral rating. The consensus price target is $36.57, and the stock has a 52-week trading range of $26.44 to $38.99. It recently closed near $31 per share.


Stifel feels that the software group will see above-average growth in coming years, driven by secular demand that shows no signs of abating. The firm’s four sizzling stock picks offer the best entry points this year and could be big alpha producers for the rest of 2021.

See how Warren Buffett’s first-quarter stock picks are faring. Also, check out why Goldman Sachs has downgraded Kinder Morgan and Ferrari.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Chipotle Mexican Grill, CRISPR, Hess Midstream, iMedia Brands, Kinder Morgan, Wendy’s and more. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Biogen, Ingersoll Rand, Peloton Interactive, Yeti and more.

 

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