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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: ADT, CBOE, Celgene, JPMorgan, 3M, NetApp, Total, Tyson Foods, Weatherford and More
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Monday’s markets closed sharply higher after a recovery rally was seen on Friday, but Tuesday’s opening bell was indicated to be weak for stocks. The bull market is just a month shy of being nine years old, and the one trend that has served investors huge rewards for over five years now has been to buy the pullbacks. Investors also are reconsidering how to position their portfolios for 2018, as higher wages, interest rates and even inflation concerns are being countered by tax reform, accelerated corporate earnings and stronger GDP growth.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some analyst reports and research reports cover stocks to buy. Others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.
Additional color and commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports. The consensus analyst price targets 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 Tuesday, February 13, 2018.
ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT) was started as Outperform with a $16 price target (versus a $12.68 prior close) at RBC Capital Markets. Credit Suisse started ADP as Outperform with a $14 price target. The stock was indicated up 2.9% at $13.05 a share on Tuesday.
Beacon Roofing Supply Co. (NASDAQ: BECN) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $70 price target (versus a $55.07 close) at Wedbush Securities.
Beazer Homes USA (NYSE: BZH) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $22 price target (versus a $15.25 close) at Wedbush.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $213 price target (versus a $176.72 close) at Goldman Sachs.
CBOE Global Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $127 price target (versus a $110.68 close) at Deutsche Bank.
Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $105 price target (versus a $91.51 close) at Barclays. Shares were up 0.7% at $92.19 on Tuesday morning, in a 52-week range of $88.32 to $147.17. The consensus analyst target price is $125.31.
Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $284 price objective (versus a $227.85 close) at Merrill Lynch.
Instructure Inc. (NYSE: INST) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $43 from $41 at Oppenheimer.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $127 price target (versus a $111.74 close) at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. JPMorgan shares have a 52-week trading range of $81.64 to $117.35 and a consensus target price of $118.96.
LGI Homes Inc. (NASDAQ: LGIH) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $73 price target (versus a $59.51 close) at Wedbush. The firm’s view is that the recent sell-off appears to be overdone.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $275 price target (versus a $229.19 close) at Deutsche Bank. 3M has a 52-week range of $180.15 to $259.77 and a consensus target price of $245.77.
Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $79 price target (versus a $64.77 close) at Goldman Sachs.
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Mimecast Ltd. (NASDAQ: MIME) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $38 from $35 at Oppenheimer. BMO Capital markets also reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target price to $38 from $35.
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $74 price objective (versus a $57.73 close) at Merrill Lynch. Loop Capital raised its rating to Buy from Hold with a $69 price target. NetApp closed up 2.8% at$57.73 on Monday and was indicated up 3.2% at $59.60 on Tuesday.
Nine Energy Service Inc. (NYSE: NINE) was started as Outperform with a $29 price target at Credit Suisse. Wells Fargo started it as Outperform with a $33 price target, and Piper Jaffray started it as Overweight with a $35 price target. Shares closed at $23.50 on Monday.
Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PIRS) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $11 from $9 at Oppenheimer.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $118 from $107 at Credit Suisse.
Ra Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RARX) was maintained as Outperform but the price target was cut to $14 from $16 at Credit Suisse. This is after the firm noted that the Phase 2 PNH update was similar to prior data.
RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $66 from $60 (versus a $53.35 close) at Oppenheimer.
24/7 Wall St.ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $170 from $150 (versus a $147.24 close) at Argus. The firm raised its 2018 estimates and set a new 2019 earnings target of $3.01 per share, and it noted that ServiceNow shares are favorably valued by historical standards, with a solid revenue and profit outlook over the next few years underpinning valuation.
Statoil ASA (NYSE: STO) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. Raymond James raised Total to Strong Buy from Outperform.
Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) was reiterated as Buy at Argus, and the firm has a $90 price target (versus a $74.53 close). Numerous issues were cited favorably: range of food businesses provides an advantage over competitors; growing demand for beef, chicken, pork and turkey; to benefit from the Hillshire Brands and AdvancePierre acquisitions; and even debt reduction and dividend hikes.
Varonis Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNS) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $60 from $57 at Oppenheimer.
Weatherford International PLC (NYSE: WFT) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $3.50 price target (versus a $2.86 close) at Barclays.
Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: XEL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Wedbush has added Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) to its Best Ideas List for 2018. Activision’s new investments have the potential to significantly expand its margins and profits for the next several years, according to Wedbush. The firm believes that Region Financial’s hard work to reposition the balance sheet was reflected in the solid earnings results and sets the stage for stronger growth in 2018.
Monday’s top analyst calls were in American Express, Cisco, First Solar, Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq, Shopify, SunPower, Workday and many more.
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