Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apple, Schwab, Google, Nasdaq, TripAdvisor, Wells Fargo and More

July 14, 2014 by Jon C. Ogg

Stocks were staging a recovery on Monday. Last week showed that all-time highs can come and go. Still, investors are still looking for selective upside in stocks. What is different in the bull market this summer is that investors are looking at individual stock picks, for a stock picker’s market rather than just a raging bull market. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new ideas for our readers. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Wall Street firms. As a reminder, this week marks the official start of a crucial earnings season.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette Woods.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised all the way up to $110 from $95 (versus a $95.22 close) at Barclays. Morgan Stanley maintained its Overweight rating and raised the price target to $110 from $99.

Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $54 price target at J.P. Morgan.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) was started with a Buy rating and given a $35 price target (versus a $27.10 close) at Jefferies.

Colfax Corp. (NYSE: CFX) was raised to Buy with price target of $84 (versus a $71.58 close) at Argus.

Covidien PLC (NYSE: COV) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA) downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $25 from $32 (versus a $22.52 close) at B. Riley.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $742 from $735 at Credit Suisse. The firm believes that Google Play is the next important multibillion dollar opportunity for Google.

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight by Evercore. The price target was $46, versus a $39.11 close.

ALSO READ: The Top 11 Earnings Previews for the Week Ahead

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) was raised to Buy a target price of $44 (versus a $37.42 close) at Argus.

Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $72 price target (versus a $61.75 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Signature Bank (NASDAQ: SBNY) was raised to Buy with a $144 price target (versus a $122.36 close) at Sterne Agee.

TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $103 price target at Nomura. Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating and raised its target price to $125 from $105 in the call.

USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan after last week’s earnings report. Credit Suisse raised its estimates on Wells Fargo, but only maintained its Neutral rating.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) was started with an Underweight rating and a $65 price target (versus a $70.62 close) at Evercore.

ALSO READ: 12 Analyst Stocks Under $10 With Massive Upside Potential

In case you missed Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included shares of Apple, Altria, Gap, Qualcomm, Shell, P&G and a dozen more.

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