Economy

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AbbVie, Beyond Meat, Biogen, Cars.com, Levi Strauss, Maxeon, Nvidia, Pfizer, Plug Power, Square, Wayfair and More

Stock futures surged on Monday after news of the COVID-19 vaccine being so successful, but the market gave up nearly half of its gains late in the day, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down on Monday as well. Tuesday showed a positive gain for the Dow Jones industrial average’s open, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both lower. As the election now appears to be over, save run-offs and legal challenges, investors are trying to judge the landscape for what 2021 will bring. How they should be positioned for the coming months is now becoming a serious debate.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was started with an Outperform rating and a $120 price target (versus a $95.12 prior close) at Bernstein. It had a $110.37 consensus target price.

Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) lost 4% of its value to close at $150.50 on Monday as news broke that McDonald’s would begin work toward its own non-meat items, but then Beyond Meat reported an unexpected loss and a disappointment on revenues as sales growth slowed. That had shares down over 22% at $116.60 on Tuesday morning. UBS raised it to Neutral from Sell with a $107 price target, and Piper Sandler raised its rating to Overweight from Neutral with a $144 price target. The stock had a $129.21 consensus target price going into earnings.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) stock closed down 28% at $236.26 on Monday after disappointing news on its Alzheimer’s drug candidate from the FDA Advisory Committee. Many analysts downgraded it or knocked down targets and expectations, but on Tuesday, Truist Securities reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $443 from $310, saying it has conviction that the FDA actually will approve aducanumab based on three criteria.

Cars.com LLC (NYSE: CARS) was reiterated as Buy with a $13 price target at D.A. Davidson. The stock closed down 5% at $8.85 on Monday but was indicated up 5% at $9.30 on Tuesday. Its consensus target price was $11.41.

Chefs’ Warehouse Inc. (NASDAQ: CHEF) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $30 price target at BMO Capital Markets. The stock closed up 42% at $20.06 on Monday, as a coronavirus vaccine would make restaurants safe again.

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) was started with a Market Perform rating and a $150 price target (versus a $142.33 prior close) at Bernstein.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ICPT) was up over 23% at $34.84 on Monday after its quarterly update. Robert W. Baird raised it to Outperform from Neutral with a $52 price target, and Raymond James upgraded it to Outperform from Market Perform with a $60 price target.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $20 price objective at BofA Securities. The stock closed up 6% at $16.50 on Monday, and it had a $19.40 consensus target price.

Marcus Corp. (NYSE: MCS) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Barrington Research.

Maxeon Solar Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: MAXN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.

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