Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alphabet, Amex, Apple, Biogen, eBay, Ford, Microsoft, PPG, Roku, United Rentals, Valero and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: October 19, 2018 8:55 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 4:11 pm

Stocks were indicated higher on Friday after another big drop on Thursday. That said, the gains are a fraction of what was lost and the mood of investors is to be more concerned rather than more bullish at this time. Investors have seen lower upside after buying immediately after the big market pullbacks in 2018 than in prior years. Now investors have to be considering how to position their investments for the rest of the year and into 2019.

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 cover stocks to buy, but some of them cover stocks to sell or avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday, October 19, 2018.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $1,500 from $1,375 at Credit Suisse. Alphabet closed down 2.6% at $1,097.91 a share on Thursday and was indicated up about 1% at $1,108.75 on Friday. Its consensus target price was $1,383.82 ahead of the call, and it has a 52-week trading range of $977.08 to $1,291.44.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was down 1.4% at $102.84 ahead of earnings and was indicated up 1.4% at $104.25 afterward. Nomura reiterated it as Buy and raised the price target to $130 from $128. Morgan Stanley and Barclays also both raised their target prices to $115. Amex had a consensus target price of $115.12, and its 52-week trading range is $87.54 to $111.77.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was started as Outperform with a $310 price target (versus a $221.19 prior close) at Wedbush Securities, noting that the focus on the services area will win while the iPhone cycle is humming. The firm also added Apple to its Best Ideas List.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform and the price target was cut to $65 from $68 at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform and the price target was cut to $341 from $373 at Bernstein, which noted that Biogen is unlikely to outperform before 2020 based on the current plans and views on its multiple sclerosis drugs and muscle disease treatments.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $35 from $43 at Stifel, which noted a gross market value from PayPal disclosure. eBay shares were indicated down 6% at $29.65 on Friday, after closing down 1.5% at $31.55 on Thursday.

E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) has seen multiple target cuts: Barclays to $60 from $65, Raymond James to $64 from $70 and Jefferies to $60 from $65. Shares closed down 3.25% at $48.92 on Thursday, and the prior consensus target price was $65.53.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $10 from $14 at Morgan Stanley. The firm noted that a lack of restructuring progress is followed by a lack of confidence from the investing community and capital markets. JPMorgan also cut it target to $13 from $14 in a rival call.

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Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform and the target price was cut to $45 from $52 at BMO Capital Markets, which noted that the upside it expected did not materialize.

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) has seen multiple price target hikes on Friday after beating earnings expectations: Canaccord Genuity to $610 from $550, Leerink to $610 from $600, Raymond James to $630 from $620 and Morgan Stanley to $620 from $600.

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the target price was lowered to $27 from $34 at Credit Suisse. JPMorgan raised its target to $28 from $27, but KBW cut its target to $24 from $28.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was maintained as a Buy and the price target was cut to $22 from $25 at Nomura. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and has a $23 price target, despite some mixed numbers.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was started as Outperform and assigned a $140 price target (versus a $110.71 close) at Wedbush. The firm noted that the company is riding the cloud’s growth and has a long runway ahead.

O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $398 from $311 at JPMorgan.

PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the price target went to $105 from $103 at JPMorgan. BMO Capital Markets lowered its price target to $107 from $116. The shares were closer to $110 ahead of the prior week’s earnings report, and they closed at $98.99 on Thursday.

Qualys Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) was started as Outperform and assigned a $95 price target (versus a $75.61 close) at Wedbush. The firm noted that the company is still in the early days of a massive secular growth phase, and the stock was also added to the Wedbush Best Ideas List.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform and the price target was raised to $70 from $48 at RBC Capital Markets.

Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was lowered to $134 from $149 a Citigroup. Also, Keefe Bruyette & Woods lowered its target price to $148 from $153.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) was down 15% at $118.13 after earnings disappointed, compared with a 52-week high of $190.74. Several firms have lowered their targets, some handily: Macquarie to $99 from $130, Morgan Stanley to $190 from $194 and RBC Capital Markets to $188 from $214.

Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. The company is rolling Valero Energy Partners back into its structure, and after a 0.3% drop to $103.39 on Thursday, its shares were indicated down 3.2% at $100.00 on Friday. The consensus target price was $133.82, and its 52-week trading range is $75.84 to $126.98.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $130 from $105 at Barclays. Disney shares closed down 0.8% at $116.18 on Thursday and were indicated up 1.3% at $117.80 on Friday.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) was started as Outperform and was assigned a $48 price target (versus a $37.91 close) at Wedbush, which noted that there are massive growth prospects as a disruptive first mover in cloud security.