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Is Earnings Optimism Enough? Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: CSX, Gap, Peloton, United Airlines and More

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Markets edged higher to start out the week, and investors are coming out of this holiday weekend anticipating a blizzard of earnings. Less than 10% of the S&P 500 have reported, but of those that have, most have exceeded Wall Street estimates, further feeding the optimism for this season.

While inflation concerns persist and geopolitical tensions remain high, at least investors can lean on earnings so far. One of the most important aspects of this season though may not necessarily be about the numbers from this quarter but more so the guidance going forward. As such, it makes for a stock-picker’s market.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Monday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day were on Bed Bath & Beyond, Delta Air Lines, Qualcomm, Shopify and many more.

Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV): Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral and cut the $177 price target to $90. The 52-week trading range is $94.75 to $180.81, and shares were trading near $106 on Monday.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX): Barclays downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight and cut the $22 price target to $13. The stock traded near $11 on Monday. The 52-week trading range is $10.17 to $19.99.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): Robert Baird lifted its Underperform rating to Neutral and has an $85 price target. Shares were trading near $88 on Monday. The 52-week range is $63.07 to $102.09.

CSX Corp. (NASDAQ: CSX): The TD Securities downgrade to Hold from Buy included a price target cut to $38 from $41. The stock traded near $35 on Monday. The 52-week trading range is $29.49 to $38.63.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS): Morgan Stanley raised its Underweight rating to Equal Weight and has a $14 price target. The stock traded near $14 on Monday. The 52-week trading range is $12.78 to $37.63.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR): Goldman Sachs downgraded to a Sell rating from Neutral with a $3 price target. Shares were trading near $4. The 52-week range is $3.78 to $20.66.

Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR): Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral, and its $113 price target dropped to $100. The stock traded near $110 on Monday. The 52-week trading range is $89.35 to $120.17.

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON): Telsey Advisory reiterated a Market Perform rating but cut the $40 price target to $28. The 52-week trading range is $20.11 to $129.70, and shares traded near $23 apiece on Monday.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI): Morgan Stanley downgraded it from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $7 price target. Shares were trading near $6 on Monday. The 52-week range is $5.75 to $7.29.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL): UBS’s downgrade was from Buy to Neutral with a $51 price target. The 52-week trading range is $30.54 to $60.59, and shares were trading near $45 apiece on Monday.


Even with the potential for a sizable correction looming, eight Dividend Aristocrats are poised to do well for the rest of 2022. With just moderate appreciation in their share prices, investors could be looking at double-digit total return potential.

See which five top companies are expected to lift the dividends they pay to shareholders this week, making their stocks good total return candidates.

 

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