Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: BofA, NetApp, Stratasys, Symantec, Wells Fargo and More

March 24, 2014 by Jon C. Ogg

The stock market was unable to hold new all-time highs, and investors are looking for both gains and protection in the next sell-off. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many analyst calls each morning on the hunt for new ideas that can make money or help investors. Some of the research calls cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell. These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms.

American Electric Power Co. (NYSE: AEP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Atlantic Equities.

Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE: BBD) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Clovis Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: CLVS) was started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $35 from $32 at Argus.

Loew’s Corp. (NYSE: L) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

NCI Building Systems Inc. (NYSE: NCS) was started as Qutperform with a $21 price target by Credit Suisse.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and was given a $125 price target at J.P. Morgan.

Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform, but the price target was cut to $22 from $24, at BMO Capital Markets.

United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at Atlantic Equities.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $126 from $97 at Sterne Agee. The firm also assigned a three-year potential valuation of $168 per share.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at Atlantic Equities.

Zions Bancorp. (NASDAQ: ZION) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform by BMO Capital Markets. Credit Suisse maintained an Outperform rating, noting that the sell-off leaves it with more positive upside.

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