Investing

4 Stocks That Wall Street Loves This Week

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Every day that the stock market is open and on the weekend, 24/7 Wall St. reports on the top analysts’ research calls from the major brokerage firms and banks that we cover, both inside and outside the United States. We provide details on many of the hundreds of various stock upgrades, downgrades and resumptions and initiations of coverage.

Research analysts typically provide an in-depth look into everything from a company’s business silo and products to balance sheet and financials, while raising, lowering or maintaining their specific price targets. This week we found four top stocks that Wall Street analysts are absolutely pounding the table on, and all make sense for equity investors looking for new ideas for their stock portfolios.

It is important to remember that often analysts are providing coverage on companies that their firms’ investment banking teams have provided services for, so while usually very fair, it is part of the equation. It is also important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Here are four stocks that Wall Street loves this week.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Goldman Sachs raised the price target on the aluminum giant to $88 from $78, while reiterating a Buy rating on the stock. The consensus target is $71.36. Alcoa shares traded in Friday’s premarket at $76.72.

Arista Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ANET): Loop Capital reiterated a Buy rating and raised the $157 price target to $170. Cowen kept an Outperform rating and lifted its target to $151 from $134. Citigroup checked in with a Buy rating and boosted the $150 price target to $160, while UBS stayed with a Neutral rating and moved its target to $140 from $133. The consensus target is $141.56. The stock traded early Friday at $125.00 a share. The company crushed earnings expectations and dealt out some very positive guidance.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) Citigroup upgraded the venerable cosmetics and fragrance giant to Buy from Neutral and also lifted the target price to $374 from $355. Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating and trimmed its $365 target to $350, while JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating and cut the price target to $338 from $380. The consensus target is $372.75. The stock was last seen trading at $304.29.

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ZI) UBS reiterated a Buy rating and lifted the target price on the stock to $73 from $67. Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating but cut its $85 target price to $75. Raymond James stuck with its Outperform rating but lowered the price objective to $70 from $82. Those compare with the $79.61 consensus target. Shares were changing hands at $53.30 apiece.

Also see which four stocks Wall Street hated most this week.

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