Investing

Top Analyst Calls of the Week, Stocks to Buy, Stocks to Sell, Sector by Sector

This last week had much more volatility than what investors have grown used to. 24/7 Wall St. wanted to highlight the top analyst sector research calls of the week now that investors are trying to look for bargains among the battered and sold off stocks. Friday’s top analyst upgrades and positive research calls included Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) and many others. The top analyst downgrades and cautious calls from Friday were in shares of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Sprint Nextel Inc. (NYSE: S) and others.

Other key sector calls were numerous. Some are downgrades, but others are aimed at helping investors find bargains out among the wreckage. One of the top calls came from Credit Suisse calling for the S&P 500 Index to hit 1,900 by the end of 2014. We included only some of the names from each call and links have been provided to each so that investors can see the full summary of each call.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) had some news from us this week during the turmoil as investors often look at Warrenn Buffett’s stocks for opportunities. We outlined the Buffett stocks that analysts thought had the most upside, and then we also identified the fully value or overvalued Buffett stocks as well.

The coal sector took an untimely sector downgrade from Raymond James, hitting James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC) worse than peers.

Oppenheimer listed its new institutional portfolio strategy stocks to buy. This list was mostly technology, and it was surprising to see Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) on the list.

There were several calls in oil and gas which stood out. Jefferies gave its list of oil services stocks to buy including names like Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) and seven other stocks. Deutsche Bank listed its top 10 oil and gas stocks to buy and Cobalt International Energy Inc. (NYSE: CIE) had the most upside in that group of 10 stocks. Merrill Lynch also issued a report calling for the stocks to buy under new American energy independence.

Technology was also given a focus at UBS. The firm said that SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) and other key tech stocks were trading at discounts to the secular growth stories. Cray Inc. (NASDAQ: CRAY) was given big upside with a $25 target at Sterne Agee due to supercomputing and advanced security. Oppenheimer warned that activist investors are likely to target more technology stocks. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) got a great start to the week as three calls hit almost all at once.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) managed a rare event this week: it gained for the week, in part because Stern Agee raised the rating to Buy.

Jefferies raised its price targets on its list of pharma stocks to buy, including Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) for its big dividend yield.

The risk of higher interest rates is putting pressure on mortgage REITS.

Are you worried about higher interest rates hitting the financial sector? UBS included Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) and many other financial stocks in a call showing financial stocks that will win with higher interest rates.

Even gold, and therefore the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD), was defended by Sterne Agee over gold demand. Unfortunately, the end of the week proved brutal here in that call.

Bill Gross of PIMCO is warning that too much risk is being taken for way too low of carry returns.

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