Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AstraZeneca, 3D Systems, Barrick Gold, Home Depot, Oasis Petroleum, Whiting Petroleum and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: March 15, 2016 9:05 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 11:57 am

Stocks were trading down on Wednesday, but likely that had nothing to do with the Ides of March. After a four-week rally, which followed about six weeks of serious selling, now the Dow and S&P 500 are fighting to break even in 2016 again. Investors have to feel caught in the up and down swings of the volatility pendulum. Do they return to the “buy every dip” mentality of 2011 to 2015, or do they start to sell into rallies again like in the first part of 2016?

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations each morning from the top brokerage firms. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy, and other reports cover stocks to sell or avoid. A goal in this review is to find new ideas and hidden value for our readers.

These are this Tuesday’s top analyst initiations, upgrades and downgrades seen from major research calls.

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. The firm sees very few catalysts in 2016 that can inspire the multiple expansion required to meet a Buy rating hurdle. Shares were indicated down 2.3% at $29.35, against a 52-week trading range of $28.29 to $36.69.

3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) may have seen shares rise 25% to $14.45 on Monday, but shares were indicated down almost 5% on Tuesday. 3D Systems was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Gabelli, and JPMorgan downgraded it to Underweight from Neutral. Goldman Sachs and Jefferies were already at Hold/Neutral but both downgraded their price targets. With shares at $13.75 in early trading, the consensus analyst price target was almost $12, and the 52-week range is $6.00 to $32.88.

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