Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alphabet, Bank of America, Caterpillar, Nike, NVIDIA, Panera, Snap, Urban Outfitters and More

Thinkstock

Stocks were indicated lower on Tuesday after the first day of the second quarter closed marginally lower. The bull market is more than eight years old, and investors have proven over and over for more than five years that they will find a reason to buy all the market pullbacks. Those same investors are also still looking for new trading and investing ideas.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new ideas for our readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and some reports cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Color has been added on many of the following calls, and the consensus analyst price targets referenced are from Thomson Reuters. These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, April 4, 2017:

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform and the price target was lowered to $880 from $1,005 (versus an $856.75 prior close) at BMO Capital Markets. Alphabet shares were indicated down 0.9% at $849.00 on Tuesday, in a 52-week trading range of $672.66 to $874.42 and versus a consensus analyst target price of $984.27.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $25 price target (versus a $23.59 close) at Citigroup. The call is after a huge post-election surge. Bank of America shares have a 52-week range of $12.05 to $25.80 and a consensus price target of $25.39.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was already rated as Buy at Goldman Sachs, but the firm added Caterpillar to the prized Conviction Buy list with a $120 price target (versus a $92.27 close). The 52-week range is $69.04 to $99.46, and Caterpillar has a consensus target price of $92.95.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus. Shares closed down 0.3% at $55.56 on Monday and were indicated down 0.5% at $55.25 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $49.01 to $60.68. The consensus target price is $62.36.

NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was downgraded to Underweight from Sector Weight at Pacific Crest. The shares were indicated down 3% at $105.15 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $34.40 to $120.92. The consensus target price is $113.68.

Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird, but the firm did raise its price target to $290 from $265 in the call. Credit Suisse raised its target to $300 from $260, noting that a buyout makes sense in the $300 to $310 levels. This is a day after speculation that Starbucks should buy the restaurant operator.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was started with a Neutral rating at BTIG. It closed Monday at $22.35 and was indicated down at $22.20 on Tuesday. Snap’s post-IPO range is $18.90 to $29.44, and it has a consensus price target of $23.36.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. It closed down 2.36% at $23.20 on Monday and was indicated down 5% at $22.00 on Tuesday. The prior 52-week range was $22.06 to $40.80, and the consensus target price is $27.68.

Other key analyst calls were seen in the following:

Athene Holding Ltd. (NYSE: ATH) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight at Pacific Crest.

FirstCash Inc. (NYSE: FCFS) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $55 from $50 (versus a $49.00 close) at Wedbush Securities.

Guidewire Software Inc. (NYSE: GWRE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTK) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $34 from $30 (versus an $18.60 prior close) at Wedbush. The firm said there were no surprises as omadacycline CABP study was positive.

Presidio Inc. (NASDAQ: PSDO) was started as Outperform with an $18 price target (versus a $15.63 prior close) at Credit Suisse. Shares were indicated up 3% at $16.10 on Tuesday morning.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight at Pacific Crest.

Worthington Industries Inc. (NYSE: WOR) was raised to Hold from Sell with a $45 price target (versus a $44.23 close) at Jefferies. The firm noted that earnings will improve even though autos remain a concern.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Accenture, Ecolab, Huntington Bancshares, Oasis Petroleum, Snap, Under Armour and over a dozen more.

Credit Suisse’s U.S. equity strategy team released a buy-side survey about what is coming from Washington. They noted that split opinions were the norm, but also that there were a few areas of consensus thinking. These were as follows:

(1) corporate tax reform to pass by the end of 2018 and will be positive for S&P 500 EPS;
(2) repatriation to be part of the package but not border-adjustment tax;
(3) skeptical that any big legislation (financials regulatory reform, infrastructure spending) will get done in Washington.

Sponsored: Attention Savvy Investors: Speak to 3 Financial Experts – FREE

Ever wanted an extra set of eyes on an investment you’re considering? Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply
clicking here
you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help guide you through the financial decisions you’re making. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.


Click here
to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.