Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apache, Netflix, RF Micro, Starbucks, Southwest, Disney and More

December 8, 2014 by Jon C. Ogg

Stocks were indicated lower on Monday after weak overseas economic readings and after U.S. stocks hit all-time highs again last week. Investors keep proving over and over that they will buy value stocks or stocks that have been hit hard. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some of these reports cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or avoid. These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades from 24/7 Wall St.

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was raised to Buy from Hold at Stifel.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was started as Neutral at UBS.

RF Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD) will start trading as QRVO after the Triquint merger. Sterne Agee has reissued a Buy rating and $17 target on the combined company.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was started on the Conviction Buy List with a $95 price target at Goldman Sachs.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $55 price target at Goldman Sachs.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was started as Buy at UBS.

The following were also among the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday:

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was reiterated as Buy with a $20 price target at Sterne Agee.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW) was started as Buy with a $39 price target at Goldman Sachs.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was started as Buy with a $70 price target at Goldman Sachs.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (NYSE: CNQ) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Ascendiant Capital.

Constellium N.V (NYSE: CSTM) was reiterated as Buy with a $25 price target at Sterne Agee.

NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

ALSO READ: Analyst Sees 4 Clean Tech Stocks Winning Big in 2015

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) was started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs, but shares are lower due to horrible same-store sales trends yet again.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation and the target was kept at $102 at Telsey Advisory.

Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE: NFX) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.

Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) was started as Sell with a $139 price target at Goldman Sachs.

Potbelly Corp. (NASDAQ: PBPB) was started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) was started as Buy at UBS.

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United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) was raised Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) was started as Sell with a $70 price target at Goldman Sachs.

In case you missed this weekend’s analyst recap, we featured nine analyst picks under $10 with massive upside calls.

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