Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Baidu, Chipotle, Cypress Semi, Enterprise, Juniper, Kindred, Ocwen, Pac-Bio and More

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
By Jon C. Ogg Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Stocks were indicated higher on Friday morning, perhaps after excessive selling on Thursday. Investors have bought every single pullback for what is now approaching four years. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of research reports from analysts each day in order to get new trading and investment ideas for its readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

These are this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) was started as Neutral with a $76 price target (versus a $64.06 close) at Credit Suisse.

Amira Nature Foods Ltd. (NYSE: ANFI) was started as Outperform with a $18 price target (versus a $8.67 close and a 52-week range of $7.41 to $19.86) at BMO Capital Markets.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $196 price target (versus a $253 close) at Jefferies.

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Berenberg.

ALSO READ: Cowen Starts Energy E&P Coverage With 3 Top Pick Stocks to Buy

Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and the price target was cut to $240 from $284 (versus a $247.80 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Cash America International Inc. (NYSE: CSH) was raised to Market Outperform from Market Perform with a $32 price target (versus a $25.92 close) at JMP Securities.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $760 price target (versus a $621.34 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Constant Contact Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the price target was cut to $30 from $46 at Credit Suisse.

Control4 Corp. (NASDAQ: CTRL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a price target of $13 (down from $17 and versus the $11.72 close) at Canaccord Genuity. Cowen downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform and the price target was cut to $11 from $23.

CVR Refining L.P. (NYSE: CVRR) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) was raised to Strong Buy from Buy with a $20 price target (versus a $13.32 close) at Needham.

DURECT Corp. (NASDAQ: DRRX) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $3 at Cantor Fitzgerald, citing solid results and multiple catalysts ahead.

Ellie Mae Inc. (NYSE: ELLI) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $75 from $60 (versus a $55.00 close) at Needham. Shares were last seen up 8% at $59.50 after beating earnings expectations.

ALSO READ: 5 Big Stocks Expected to Outperform Apple

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) was reiterated as Outperform with a $41 price target (versus a $34.25 close) at Credit Suisse.

Federal Signal Corp. (NYSE: FSS) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Genesis Energy L.P. (NYSE: GEL) was downgraded to Neutral From Outperform with a $52 price target (versus a $49.71 close) at R.W. Baird.

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: IART) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) was reiterated with an Outperform rating and the price target was raised to $29 from $27 (versus a $26.63 close) at Oppenheimer.

Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) was started as Overweight with a price target of $36 (versus a $22.95 close) at Barclays.

Limelight Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $6.50 from $4.00 (versus a $3.70 close) at B. Riley.

Linkedin Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) was maintained as Outperform at Credit Suisse, but the price target was cut to $307 from $331.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: LYV) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $31 price target (versus a $25.06 close) at Stifel.

ALSO READ: 2 Biotech Buyout Candidates

Marathon Patent Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) was started as Buy with a $12 price target (versus a $5.76 close) at Roth Capital.

Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) was reiterated as Buy with a $96 price target (versus a $80.05 close) at Argus.

Ocwen Financial Corp. (NYSE: OCN) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $12 price target (versus a $8.47 close) at Sterne Agee CRT.

Oil States International Inc. (OIS) was reiterated as Buy, and the price target was raised to $54 from $47 (versus a $47.59 close) at Sterne Agee CRT.

Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.

PC Connection Inc. (NASDAQ: PCCC) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.

SPX Corp. (NYSE: SPW) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $90 from $83 (versus a $77.00 close) at JPMorgan.

ALSO READ: Deutsche Bank Sticks With 3 High-Profile Stocks That Got Hammered

Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein.

Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

In case you missed Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included JetBlue Airways, Salesforce.com, Staples, Whiting Petroleum, Yelp and about 15 more companies.

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. www.247wallst.com.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

SBAC Vol: 6,563,665
INTC Vol: 116,894,024
CCI Vol: 6,078,125
DASH Vol: 5,051,322
GLW Vol: 11,572,082

Top Losing Stocks

ENPH Vol: 6,441,768
TSLA Vol: 82,993,122
GE Vol: 5,322,694
LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,320,256
SWK Vol: 2,144,540