Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amgen, Dow, Fitbit, Office Depot, SanDisk, Wells Fargo, Yum and Many More
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Stocks were indicated substantially higher on Tuesday morning after the Labor Day weekend. China shares were higher, as was Europe. The trend of buying pullbacks lives on. 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 other calls cover stocks to sell or to avoid.
These are this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.
Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $165.00 price target (versus a $147.02 prior close) at UBS. Amgen has a consensus price target of $185.79 and a 52-week trading range of $127.67 to $181.81.
Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) was started as Buy with a $55 price target (versus a $42.08 close) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The consensus target price is $54.42 and the 52-week range is $35.11 to $54.94.
Fitbit Inc. (NYSE: FIT) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and it has a $58.00 price target (versus a $31.88 close) at Morgan Stanley. Fitbit has a consensus analyst price target of $55.00 and a 52-week range of $29.50 to $51.90.
Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) was raised to Buy from Neutral with an $11.00 price target (versus a $7.26 close) at B. Riley. Office Depot has a consensus target price of $10.58 and a 52-week range of $4.26 to $9.77. This is on the heels of reports that the merger with Staples may face FTC scrutiny.
SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $70 price target (versus a $52.84 close) at JPMorgan. SanDisk has a consensus price target near $66.00 and a 52-week range of $44.28 to $106.64.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $57.00 price target (versus a $51.29 close) at Evercore ISI. Wells Fargo has a consensus price target of $59.81 and a 52-week range of $46.44 to $58.77.
ALSO READ: 3 Stocks to Buy That Got Hit Despite Great Earnings and Prospects
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) was raised to Buy from Outperform with a $107 price target (versus a $78.89 close) at CLSA. The consensus target price is $94.67 and the 52-week range is $65.81 to $95.90.
Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was raised to Buy from Neutral with an $80.00 price target (versus a $68.76 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The consensus price target is $84.12 and the 52-week range is $65.02 to $93.89.
Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Tuesday morning were seen as follows:
Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) was raised to Buy from Neutral with an $11.50 price target (versus a $7.74 close) at UBS.
Builders FirstSource Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDR) was started as Buy with a $20.00 price target (versus a $15.32 close) at Deutsche Bank.
Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and with a $39.00 price target (versus a $29.10 close) at JPMorgan.
Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. (NYSE: CPGX) was started as Equal Weight and with a $28.00 price target (versus a $24.22 close) at Barclays.
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD) was started as Underperform with a $51.00 price objective (versus a $48.60 close) at Merrill Lynch.
Global Blood Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: GBT) was started as Overweight with a $67.00 price target (versus a $52.70 close) at Morgan Stanley. Cowen started the stock as Outperform.
ALSO READ: 7 Energy Stocks Analysts Want You to Buy Now
Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE: THG) was started as Market Perform with an $86.00 price target (versus a $77.84 close) at BMO Capital Markets.
Houlihan Lokey Inc. (NYSE: HLI) was started as Buy with a $25.00 price target at UBS. Goldman Sachs started it as Neutral with a $25.00 price target. Keefe Bruyette & Woods started it as Outperform with a $28.00 price target, and Merrill Lynch started it as Buy with a $26.00 price objective. Houlihan Lokey closed at $22.35 on Friday, and it has a post-IPO range of $18.22 to $23.10.
Nimble Storage Inc. (NYSE: NMBL) was started as Positive with a $35 price target (versus a $24.62 close) at Susquehanna.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was reiterated as Buy with a $130.00 price target (versus an $84.43 close and a $120 consensus target) at Canaccord Genuity.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) was raised to Buy from Sell with a $565.00 price target (versus a $499.99 close and a $617 consensus price target) at UBS.
Rentrak Corp. (NASDAQ: RENT) was raised to Strong Buy from Buy at Needham and was assigned a price target of $85.00. Rentrak closed at $43.43 and has a $75.44 closing price.
Silicon Motion Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: SIMO) was started as Positive with a $35.00 price target (versus a $25.43 close) at Susquehanna.
Wisconsin Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: WEC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch Updates Top Transforming World Stock Picks for 2015
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