Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Akamai, Barclays, Chevron, Duke Energy, Expedia, First Solar, Kinder Morgan, Netflix and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: January 11, 2018 8:40 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 4:36 am

Stocks were indicated higher on Thursday after regulators watered down the notion that China would stop buying U.S. debt. The bull market is now less than two months shy of nine years old, and the trend that keeps on working is to buy pullbacks. Now investors are looking at how to position themselves for 2018 and beyond with tax reform and accelerated earnings and GDP growth driving the interest. Those same investors are also looking for new ideas.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new investing and trading ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of the daily analyst reports and research reports cover stocks to buy, and some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional color and commentary have been added on most of these daily analyst calls. Consensus analyst price targets mentioned and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Thursday, January 10, 2018.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) was downgraded to Underweight from Sector Weight with a $51 price target (versus a $66.32 prior close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The firm has warned that a recently speculated takeover looks unlikely for Akamai.

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $91 price objective (versus an $85.70 close) at Merrill Lynch.

Appian Corp. (NASDAQ: APPN) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. Appian closed up 8.5% at $34.57 on Wednesday but was indicated down 2% at $33.85 on Thursday.

Avangrid Inc. (NYSE: AGR) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $60 price target (versus a $47.99 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Azul S.A. (NYSE: AZUL) was started as Buy with a $34 price objective (versus a $24.78 close) at Merrill Lynch

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. Its American depositary shares closed down almost 0.5% at $10.86 on Wednesday and were indicated down 2.2% at $10.62 on Thursday.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $140 from $120 (versus a $128.66 close) at BMO Capital Markets. The stock was indicated up 0.25% at $129.00 on Thursday, above its 52-week high of $128.94. Wells Fargo also raised its target on Chevron to $129 from $117.

Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen, but the firm raised its price target to $93 from $90. This was a valuation call after Citrix closed at $90.82 on Wednesday, versus a consensus target price of $87.50.

Core Laboratories N.V. (NYSE: CLB) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $109 price target (versus a $116.30 close) at Deutsche Bank.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with an $88 price target (versus an $80.11 close) at Goldman Sachs.

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Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. Expedia closed at $127.18 on Wednesday and was indicated up 3% at $131.02 on Thursday. Its consensus target price was $151.31 and the 52-week range is $115.55 to $161.00.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was started with a Buy rating at Vertical Group. Shares closed down 0.5% at $69.64 on Wednesday and were indicated up 1.2% at $70.48 on Thursday.

Harsco Corp. (NYSE: HSC) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $24 from $21 (versus a $19.05 close) at Argus.

Hawaiian Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: HA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus, with the firm worried about heightened competition for the Hawaiian airline.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight with a $123 price target (versus a $120.12 close) at JPMorgan.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) was maintained as Neutral at Credit Suisse, but the price target was raised to $31 from $25 in the call.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) was maintained as Neutral at Credit Suisse, but the price target was raised to $67 from $55 in the call.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was started with an Overweight rating and assigned a $245 price target (versus a $212.52 close) at Barclays. Netflix received multiple upgrades and target hikes in the first week of 2018 alone. The stock closed up 1.5% at $212.52 on Wednesday and was indicated up almost 1% more at $214.50 on Thursday, above its prior high of $213.64.

Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $45 price target (versus a $45.96 close) at Goldman Sachs.

STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE: STM) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse in a European chip call. The American depositary shares were up 0.2% at $23.49 on Wednesday and indicated up 2.4% at $24.05 on Thursday.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform, but the price target was raised to $80 from $72 (versus a $78.53 close), at Wedbush Securities. The firm noted that the company’s key drivers are improving but its margin pressures will continue to weigh on the stock.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen.

XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO) was reiterated as Outperform at Credit Suisse, but the target price was raised to $106 from $79 in the call.

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Credit Suisse has raised its rate hike expectations for 2018, up to three hikes from a prior view of two, and taking the target federal funds range to 2.00% to 2.25%.

Wednesday’s top analyst calls include BHP Billiton, CarMax, Cisco Systems, Deere, 3M, Target, United Continental, Wells Fargo and about two dozen more.