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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Altria, GM, Intel, Netflix, Paychex, Walgreens and More
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Stocks were indicated higher on Thursday after it looks as though the Greeks are going to try playing by the rules. Investors have proven over and over that they are buyers of every single dip in the stock market. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each day of the week to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.
These are this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) was started as Outperform at Goldman Sachs. Altria closed at $51.23, has a consensus price target of $57.33, and its 52-week trading range is $40.26 to $56.70.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $36 from $44 (versus a $31.43 close) at Barclays. GM has a consensus price target of $42.06 and a 52-week range of $28.82 to $38.99.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) was raised to Buy from Hold with a price target f $37 (versus $29.69 close) at Needham. Intel was last seen trading up over 2% at $30.40 after earnings. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating and $40 price target. The small firm Ascendiant Capital raised its rating to Hold from Sell. Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating and $35 price objective.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $120 from $80 at Canaccord Genuity. Netflix closed at $98.13 ahead of its solid earnings report, and shares were last seen trading at $108.90 or so.
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $52 from $55 (versus a $47.76 close) at Goldman Sachs. It may be worth noting that Paychex was already above its $47.07 consensus price target, and its 52-week range is $40.10 to $51.72.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $110 from $90 (versus a $93.95 close) at Credit Suisse. Walgreens has a 52-week range of $57.75 to $94.90.
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Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $91 from $96 (versus an $86.96 close) at Barclays. It has a $97.71 consensus price target and a 52-week range of $85.17 to $117.64.
Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen this Thursday were as follows:
Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) was started as Buy with a $115 price target (versus a $99.95 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Arc Logistics Partners L.P. (NYSE: ARCX) was raised to Buy from Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Chesapeake Utilities Corp. (NYSE: CPK) was started as Neutral at Janney Capital Markets.
Community Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: CYH) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $19 from $17 (versus a $16.65 close) at Deutsche Bank.
Diplomat Pharmacy Inc. (NYSE: DPLO) was started as Underperform and was given a $39 price objective (versus a $50.59 close) at Merrill Lynch.
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First American Financial Corp. (NYSE: FAF) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Janney Capital Markets.
Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) was started as Neutral at B. Riley.
HealthStream Inc. (NASDAQ: HSTM) was started as Buy with a $37 price target (versus a $31.04 close) at Canaccord Genuity. Cowen started HealthStream as Buy with a $37 price target.
Hi-Crush Partners L.P. (NYSE: HCLP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, and it was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Nomura as well.
Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight and the price target was cut to $93 from $112 (versus a $93.39 close) at Barclays.
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) was started as Neutral at Citigroup.
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ONEOK Partners L.P. (NYSE: OKS) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a price target of $40 (versus a $33.89 close) at Oppenheimer.
FreightCar America Inc. (NASDAQ: RAIL) was raised to Neutral from Sell, but the target price was cut to $22 from $24 (versus a $20.46 close) at UBS.
Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) was started as Outperform at Goldman Sachs.
SAP S.E. (NYSE: SAP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Statoil ASA (NYSE: STO) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.
Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
Universal Health Services Inc. (NYSE: UHS) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
WEC Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: WEC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at R.W. Baird.
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In case you missed out on Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Eli Lilly, Hertz, LinkedIn, NetApp, SINA, Vodafone, Wells Fargo and over a dozen more companies.
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