Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Abercrombie, Broadcom, Keurig, NOV, Transocean, Weatherford and More

May 29, 2015 by Jon C. Ogg

investor researchStocks were indicated lower on Friday morning ahead of a GDP revision. While this week has been a pullback, the reality is that investors have lined up for close to four years and have found myriad different reasons to buy stocks on each and every single pullback. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some of these analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Janney Capital Markets. The firm’s fair value estimate is now $15 (versus a $22.30 close), based on negative comparable sales expectations, risks that the turnaround will take longer and on an uncertainty of attracting new customers. Credit Suisse maintained its Underperform rating but raised the target price to $15 from $14.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna. Cowen downgraded it to Neutral from Outperform. These calls are after the merger announcement rather than based on poor fundamentals.

Keurig Green Mountain Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) was started as Neutral with a $100 price target (versus a $88.22 close) at Wedbush. The consensus price target is closer to $123 here, but Keurig shares have been pressured since the telegraph of its pricing and timing of the KOLD release.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) was started with an Underweight rating and was given a $40 price target (versus a $49.89 close) at JPMorgan. Its consensus analyst price target is $51.00.

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Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) was started as Underweight with a $16.00 price target (versus a $19.01 close) at JPMorgan. The consensus price target is even lower at $14.00, and the 52-week range is $13.28 to $46.12.

Weatherford International PLC (NYSE: WFT) was started with an Overweight rating and the price target is $19.00 (versus a $13.60 close) at JPMorgan. Weatherford’s consensus analyst price target is $16.00.

Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen this Friday were as follows:

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) was reiterated Buy with a price target of $30.00 (versus a $25.73 close) at Argus, based on strong earnings results and slightly higher guidance.

Bazaarvoice Inc. (NASDAQ: BV) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a price target of $9.00 (versus a $5.64 close) at Needham. Bazaarvoice has a consensus price target that is actually higher at $9.75.

Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) was reinstated as Outperform with a price target of $54.00 (versus a $43.63 close) at Credit Suisse.

Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) was started with a Neutral rating and a price target of $23.00 (versus a $25.29 close) at Goldman Sachs. Cablevision’s consensus analyst price target is even lower around $20.50.

CTI BioPharma Corp. (NASDAQ: CTIC) was reiterated as Buy with a fair value estimate of $3.50 (versus a $1.92 close) at Janney Capital Markets. The firm believes the ASCO conference could offer an upward catalyst as it shows detailed results from its Phase 3 myelofibrosis trial.

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: DRNA) was started with a Buy rating and price target of $25.00 (versus a $16.45 close) at Jefferies. The consensus price target is even higher at $35.00, and the 52-week range is $8.00 to $27.33.

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Knight Transportation Inc. (NYSE: KNX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, with a $33.00 price objective (versus $30.07 close). Knight’s consensus analyst price target is $35.76.

MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: MX) was raised to Buy from Hold with a price target of $9.00 (versus a $6.39 close) at Topeka Capital Markets. Its consensus price target is $8.00.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) was started with a Sell rating and was given a price target of $13.00 (versus a $14.20 close) at Citigroup. Marvell’s consensus target is closer to $15.00, and it has a 52-week range of $11.65 to $16.78.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) was maintained as Buy with a fair value estimate of $2.50 (versus a $1.72 close) at Janney Capital Markets. The firm noted that the turnaround paused with negative comparable sales, but it still believes in a long-term return to profitability. Yet, Mizuho downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $35 from $39 (versus a $32.33 close) at TD Securities.

Superior Energy Services Inc. (NYSE: SPN) was started with an Overweight rating and a price target of $31.00 (versus a $22.97 close) at JPMorgan. The consensus analyst price target is $29.38.

ALSO READ: Why Dividend and Buyback Growth May Have Peaked

Tech Data Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and was given a downside price target of $80 (versus a $94.95 close) at Merrill Lynch. The consensus price target is closer to $110.

Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA) was started as Outperform with a $140 price target (versus a $109.40 close) at Oppenheimer.

In case you missed Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of Antares Pharma, Michael Kors, Palo Alto Networks, Ralph Lauren, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Ericsson and over a dozen more companies.

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