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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apple, BioCryst, Dow Chemical, Sanmina, Sally Beauty and More

It is another earnings season Tuesday, and analysts and investors are continuing to make adjustments to their 2014 outlook. Last week’s market volatility added another wrench in the machine. 24/7 Wall St. looks over many Wall Street analyst research reports each morning, some of which cover stocks to Buy and some stocks to sell. These are this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was trading down close to 7% on its earnings report. So far we have seen that the stock was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James, as well as downgraded to Perform from Outperform by Oppenheimer. Susquehanna also lowered earnings expectations. Apple’s target price was also cut at Jefferies, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and elsewhere. Argus said that the conservative guidance is what slammed the stock, and the firm went as far as to say that this drop creates a buying opportunity.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) was downgraded to Underperform from an already cautious Neutral rating with a $9.00 price target (versus a $9.81 close) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The firm’s downgrade is based on HAE’s commercial opportunity, a crowded and competitive space, and also that physicians surveyed prefer a subQ treatment versus a pill that has to be taken three times per day.

Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) was started with an Overweight rating and was assigned as $60.00 price target by Atlantic Equities. What stands out about this call is that the price target implies almost 40% upside from the $43.10 close, and it is almost $15 higher than the consensus $57.78 price target.

Sanmina Corp. (NASDAQ: SANM) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond James. The outsourced manufacturer was also raised to Buy from Hold with a $19 price target at Needham & Co. Shares closed down 2.9% on Monday at $14.80, but the stock is indicated up close to $16 after beating earnings and raising guidance.

Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SBH) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $33 price target (versus a $27.65 close) at Sterne Agee. Credit Suisse had some caution in its retail note, but this is one of the first positive research developments seen in months on Sally Beauty.

Other Analyst Calls Worth Noting

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.

Chefs’ Warehouse Inc. (NASDAQ: CHEF) was trading down in the double-digits after lowering its earnings guidance. Shares have been downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T Capital Markets and at UBS.

Delek US Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DK) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) was started as Hold at Topeka Capital Markets.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was reiterated as Buy and saw its price target raised to $1,300 from $1,150 at Jefferies.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) was started as Buy with a $98 price target (versus a $85.06 close) at Deutsche Bank.

ORBCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: ORBC) was listed as utilizing satellite assets to transition to a leading end-to-end M2M services company and started as Buy with a $9 price target at Canaccord Genuity. This price target implies 36% upside.

Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) was downgraded to Underperform all the way from Buy, and the price target was slashed to $10 from $17, at Merrill Lynch.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

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