Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AK Steel, AmEx, Citi, MannKind, Micron, Ocwen, Seagate and More

March 3, 2015 by Jon C. Ogg

investor researchStocks were indicated marginally lower on Tuesday after the Nasdaq hit 5,000 for the first time in 15 years. If there is one trend that has prevailed without fail for more than two years now, it is the notion that investors want to buy stocks whenever there is a pullback. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each morning of the week to find new investment and trading ideas for its readers.

Some of these analyst research reports cover stocks to buy, but others cover stocks to sell or avoid. These are this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $4 from $10 (versus a $4.32 close) at Nomura.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Macquarie. Still, this is one of 12 big dividend hikes expected soon.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $58 from $54 (versus a $53.49 close) at J.P. Morgan. Citigroup was also a company expected to raise its dividend soon.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HLT) was started as Outperform with a $34 price target (versus a $28.87 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with an $18 price target (versus a $16.13 close) at Jefferies.

ALSO READ: 12 Companies That Will Hike Their Dividends Very Soon

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $145 price target (versus a $123.36 close) at Canaccord Genuity.

Lumber Liquidators Holding Inc. (NYSE: LL) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $47 target price (versus a $38.83 closing price) at Janney Capital.

MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and the price target was slashed to $3 from $6 (versus a $6.64 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) was started as Outperform with a $94 price target (versus a $84.83 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $30 from $40 (versus a $31.24 close) at Nomura.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Ocwen Financial Corp. (NYSE: OCN) saw its estimates lowered by Sterne Agee based on its alternatives, including a debt refinancing and cash raise. This is on the heels of news that it had hired Barclays and Moelis to support the company and advise it over capital planning and to explore strategic options.

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) beat earnings estimates. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating, raised its earnings estimates and raised its price target to $165 from $135 (versus a $145.98 close).

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $82 from $63 (versus a $70.90 close) at Canaccord Genuity.

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) was started as Underperform with a $50 price objective (versus a $61.56 close) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $21 from $37 (versus a $23.82 close) at Nomura.

Valero Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: VLP) was started as Buy at Evercore ISI.

ALSO READ: 5 Analyst Picks Under $10 With Huge Upside Targets

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) was started as Neutral with a $117 price objective (versus a $108.78 close) at Merrill Lynch.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at R.W. Baird.

Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION) was started as Sell with a $25 price target (versus a $27.11 close) at UBS.

In case you missed out on Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of CenturyLink, IBM, Isis Pharmaceutical, J.C. Penney, Wayfair and a dozen or so more companies.

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