Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Autodesk, Energy Transfer Partners, IAC/InterActive, JD.com, Kite Pharma, Whole Foods and More

Lee Jackson

Published: May 9, 2017 9:05 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:12 pm

After a nervous start to the trading week, things are settling back down, as the VIX index, which shows the market’s expectation of 30-day volatility, closed at a 52-week low. The futures were mildly higher this morning as investors turned their attention to issues other than the outcome of the French election.

With this bull market now more than eight years old, investors have shown for more than the past five years that they will buy all market pullbacks. Those same investors also still are looking for new trading and investing ideas. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

These are this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush. The 52-week trading range is $49.82 to $93.99, and the consensus price target on Wall Street is $91.50. The shares closed most recently at $93.39, so this could be a price break-out call.

Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Stifel and the firm raised the price target to $25 from $23. The consensus price objective is $30.84. The 52-week range for the stock is $21.52 to $3.50. The shares closed Monday at $22.53.

IAC/InterActive Corp. (NYSE: IAC) saw its price target raised to $115 from $86 at Aegis Capital. The 52-week range for the shares is $52.23 to $101.04. The consensus price target is $112.63. The stock closed Monday at $100.55.

Kate Spade Inc. (NASDAQ: KATE) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo on the heels of the company being purchased by Coach for $2.4 billion. The 52-week trading range for Kate Spade is $14.02 to $24.24, and the consensus price objective is $41.50. The shares closed up 8.3% on Monday at $18.38.

JD.com Inc. (NYSE: JD) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Bernstein. The 52-week range is $19.51 to $39.09, and the consensus price objective is $36.93. The stock closed Monday at $38.55.

Kite Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: KITE) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Wedbush. The 52-week range is $39.52 to $88.58, and the consensus price objective is $86.92. The stock closed Monday at $70.99, down over 13% after the drugmaker reported first-quarter losses and lagged expectations for revenue.

On Deck Capital Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDK) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel, and the price target moved to $4.50 from $6. That compares with the current consensus price target of $5.31. The 52-week range for the shares is $3.64 to $6.46. The stock close Monday at $4.32.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) was started with a Sell rating at Gordon Haskett. The 52-week trading range is $52.72 to $80.21, and the consensus price target for the retailer is $59.91. The stock closed Monday at $57.30.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) was started with a Buy rating at Gordon Haskett. The 52-week range is $27.67 to $37.33. The consensus price target is $30.20. Shares closed on Monday at $36.71.

Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:

Azul S.A. (NYSE: AZUL) was started with a Buy rating at Citigroup. This was a recent well-received initial public offering. Since going public the stock had traded between $21.25 and $25.82. The consensus price target for the shares is $30.82. The stock closed Monday at $24.29.

Essent Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESNT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch. The 52-week trading range is $19.57 to $39.50. The consensus price target is $37.06.

GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNC) was started with a Sell rating and a $2 target at Odeon Capital. The consensus price objective is $10.03. The 52-week range for the shares is $6.51 to $28.11. The stock closed Monday at $7.25.

Gigamon Inc. (NASDAQ: GIMO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at D.A. Davidson. The 52-week range is $28.43 to $61.25. The consensus price target is $37.11. The stock closed at $41.20 Monday, up a stunning 17.7%.

Kona Grill Inc. (NASDAQ: KONA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at the Telsey Advisory Group, which also lowered the price target on the company to $8 from $13. That compares with a consensus target of $11.50. The 52-week trading range is $5.20 to $14.44. The stock close Monday at $5.35.

Life Storage Inc. (NYSE: LSI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch. The 52-week range is $72.08 to $116.22, and the consensus price target is $86.75. The stock closed Monday at $74.36.

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Model N Inc. (NYSE: MODN) is raised to Buy from Hold at Craig Hallum. The 52-week range for the stock is $6.98 to $13.98, and the consensus price target is set at $11. The shares closed Monday at $11.75

Nevro Corp. (NYSE: NVRO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley. The 52-week range is $62.61 to $106.93, and the consensus price objective is $110. The stock closed Monday at $86.30.

Scynexis Inc. (NASDAQ: SCYX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham after the company announced in a quarterly update that FDA has requested additional information from company to better understand IV SCY-078 risk for thrombosis. The 52-week range is $1.74 to $5.51. The consensus price target is $10.57, and shares closed Monday at $2.54.

In case you missed it, here are Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades. They included Asure Software, Fluor, Lam Research, Newfield Exploration, Tesla, Yext and many more.