Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Twitter, Whiting Petroleum, Groupon, Goldman Sachs BDC, AT&T and More
June 4, 2015 8:40 am
Last Updated: June 4, 2015 8:40 am
Stocks were lower on Thursday on reports that Greece was declining to accept the terms and proposed restraints that the European Union presented the country. While the reason is different almost every time, for almost four years now investors have lined up and bought their favorite stocks on every pullback. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of research reports each morning, hunting for new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid.Source: Jon Ogg
These are Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $40 from $35 (versus a $35.03 close) at JPMorgan. The consensus price target is $34.35, and this JPMorgan target matches the street’s highest analyst price target. The 2015 Bull/Bear Case for AT&T showed that over half of AT&T’s 9% or so expected gain would come from its high 5.4% dividend. 24/7 Wall St. just offered a first look on the post-DirecTV merger values for AT&T.
Goldman Sachs BDC Inc. (NYSE: GSBD) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. Wells Fargo just reiterated its Market Perform rating the prior day. Trading at $22.78, its post-IPO range is $19.50 to $23.33, and the yield is over 8%.
Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley. Here is how leadership changes likely will affect the company, as well as our own look at why Groupon is still floundering. After closing at $6.15, the consensus price target is closer to $8.50 and the 52-week range is $5.68 to $8.43.
Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the target price was cut to $39 from $49 (versus a $37.00 close) at Evercore ISI. The downgrade was based on diminishing user growth, a lower conviction on the monetization and a more conservative valuation of the future long-term growth prospects. Twitter has a consensus price target of almost $48 and a 52-week range of $33.09 to $55.99.
Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL) was upgraded to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $43 from $38 (versus a $33.37 close) at Deutsche Bank. Whiting has seen its share of mixed calls, now that it is no longer considered a buyout target as the largest independent Bakken shale producer. Its consensus price target is almost $44, and the 52-week range is $24.13 to $92.92.
ALSO READ: 5 Analyst Stock Picks Called to Rise 50% to 100%
These are the additional top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Thursday:
Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.