Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Akamai, Carnival, Chevron, Pollo Loco, Ford, F5, Lululemon, Starbucks and More
January 5, 2015 by Jon C. Ogg
Monday’s weakness is being tied to weakness in Europe, and the euro is nearing a decade low. These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls.
Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Pacific Crest.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LOCO) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $34 price target (versus a $20.26 close) at Baird.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Janney Capital Markets.
ALSO READ: Apple’s First Analyst Price Target Hike of 2015
Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades on Monday were as follows:
Becton Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX) was raised to Strong Buy from Market Perform at Raymond James.
Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $180 price target (versus a $178.64 close) at Baird.
Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $64 from $55 (versus a $52.67 close) at Goldman Sachs.
ALSO READ: Insider Buying Remained Strong Into Year-End
Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital Markets.
F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a $160 price target (versus a $130.33 close) at Oppenheimer.
La Quinta Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LQ) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) was started as Buy with a $16 price target (versus a $10.94 close) at Roth Capital.
Potbelly Corp. (NASDAQ: PBPB) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $17 price target (versus a $13.16 close) at Baird.
TreeHouse Foods Inc. (NYSE: THS) was raised to Buy from Underperform at Merrill Lynch.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $55 price target (versus a $54.70 close) at Baird.
Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.
ALSO READ: 5 Massive Upside Analyst Stock Picks for 2015
Also, here were the S&P 500 targets for 2015 from the major brokerage firms:
- Barclays, 2,100
- BMO, 2,250
- Citigroup, 2,200
- Credit Suisse, 2,200
- Deutsche Bank, 2,150
- Goldman Sachs, 2,100
- J.P. Morgan, 2,250
- Merrill Lynch, 2,200
- Morgan Stanley, 2,275
- Oppenheimer, 2,311
- RBC, 2,325
- UBS, 2,225
- Wells Fargo, 2,222
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