Did the stock market mark a formal bottom last week? That is what investors are wondering now that the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 1,000 from the bottom just a week earlier. What we know and have been shown yet again is that investors want to buy the pullbacks. They want to buy value stocks, the best growth stocks and stocks that may have more upside than the market in general.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst upgrades and downgrades each day of the week, and this becomes hundreds of reviews over the course of each week. Our goal is to find hidden value and to find new trading or investing ideas for our readers. Many of these analyst calls cover stocks to buy, and some of those come with significant upside calls.
Traditional Buy and Outperform ratings in Dow or S&P 500 stocks come with upside projections of 8% to 15%. Other more aggressive calls can come with far more upside of 25%, 50% or even 100%. Investors have to consider risk and reward here, and they have to know that an analyst calling for 50% or 100% upside is taking a much higher risk than normal.
This last week brought up many analyst calls with huge upside. Some of that is simply because stocks have pulled back so much from 2015 or 2014 highs. Still, many analyst calls are just aggressive due to explosive growth, likely turnarounds or special situation investing opportunities.
24/7 Wall St. tracked eight calls in which analysts called for upside of 50% to 100% this past week. Many of them are in large cap and well-known stocks, rather than in obscure micro caps. Among them are Bluebird Bio, Dish, Mallinckrodt, Nabors, Otonomy, SunEdison, Twitter and Azure Midstream.
In an effort to keep some of the risks present in each company, 24/7 Wall St. even tried to highlight a negative or show how much more aggressive each call is versus peers. After all, we don’t want you thinking we believe that analysts are omniscient or that the future has been set. Here are eight fresh analyst calls from the past few days with upside projections of 50% to 100%.
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Bluebird Bio
This stock may have fallen handily this past week, but Morgan Stanley sees a very attractive entry point in Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE) for patient and risk-tolerant investors. The firm raised its rating to Overweight from Equal Weight, and the price target was set at $143.00 in the call. Bluebird’s prior close was $94.07, and shares were just under $89.00 on Friday’s close, versus a $29.73 to $197.35 range over the past 52 weeks.
We would point out that insiders sold shares this week, but that may be expected as they were under a 10b5-1 scheduled sale plan. Bluebird Bio’s consensus analyst target is still closer to $200 and it has a $3.2 billion market cap.
Dish Network
Deutsche Bank started Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) as Buy on Thursday, and the firm’s $92.00 price target was roughly 50% higher than the prior $61.04 closing price. Shares were up at $62.56 on Friday’s close. The driving force here was an attractive risk-reward profile, but with the hint of an acquisition for its enviable mid-band wireless spectrum portfolio, potentially by Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile. It noted a lease could be in the works too.
Deutsche Bank sees Dish Network’s potential value at $44 billion, with even more potential upside if the spectrum is monetized tax efficiently. Just keep in mind that Dish’s consensus price target is just under $74.00.
Mallinckrodt
Oppenheimer had a very solid view of Mallinckrodt PLC (NYSE: MNK) earlier this week, with an Outperform rating and a $138 price target. That was more than 100% higher than the $66.73 price on Friday’s close and over $30 higher than the consensus target price of $106.85. Mallinckrodt set 2016 guidance at $7.70 to $8.20 in earnings per share, but the firm said that there may be an upward surprise and there remains conviction around Acthar’s longevity.
Recent acquisitions, future mergers and acquisitions, and share buybacks were among the other drivers for such an aggressive call here. Keep in mind that Mallinckrodt’s 52-week range is $56.57 to $134.26, and Oppenheimer has the most aggressive views and highest price target of all analysts covering it.
ALSO READ: Why GE Is Likely to Hit 52-Week and Multiyear Highs
Nabors Industries
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) was among three Deutsche Bank oil services stock picks that it thought could still double. That being said, Nabors posted solid earnings for second quarter back in the summer, and Deutsche Bank likes its diverse group of rigs by type and by geography.
Deutsche Bank’s call was more of a grouped one rather than a news break, but its price target of $20.00 for the stock is about $6.00 higher than the consensus analyst price target. Nabors had previously closed at $10.37 ahead of the call, but its stock ended the week just short of $12.00.
Otonomy
It may have fallen massively (over 50%) from its highs, but a new analysts day and corporate update from Otonomy Inc. (NASDAQ: OTIC) also may have tipped the hand for a lot of upside ahead. The company can fully fund itself to 2018, and Merrill Lynch reversed its Underperform rating by upgrading the stock to Buy on Friday.
The firm also raised its price objective to $31.00 from $29.00, versus a current price of $19.15. Merrill Lynch likes Otonomy’s growth potential and management’s strategy in the underserved otology (ear) market. Otonomy is believed to have multiple shots here by targeting indications with no currently approved drugs.
Otonomy’s lead product, Otiprio, is awaiting FDA approval by year-end, and the risk/reward is believed to now be skewed to the upside. Merrill Lynch is far from being the top price here though.
SunEdison
SunEdison Inc. (NYSE: SUNE) saw many price target cuts in the past week. Many things are going wrong for this renewable energy company, even a failed acquisition, but there is still potentially a great value here, if several analysts are not just hanging on to unjustified optimism.
Despite all those analyst price target cuts, we have several analyst views this week, and some of the price targets are still implying that SunEdison shares could double. Shares closed trading at $9.25 on Friday. We did question whether analysts are being cautious enough given the current woes, but we will leave that judgment up to you.
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With several things going for it, and we are starting to see more analyst and investor interest in Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR). Jack Dorsey was just named its permanent CEO, the company is launching its “Moments” to better capture news breaks, and the company may expand the 140 character limitation. Even the Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal boosted his stake.
Independent research firm Argus now sees roughly 50% upside in the stock, with its $45.00 price target being almost 20% higher than the consensus analyst target. Twitter shares were trading near $31.00 late on Friday, the highest share price since the end of July.
Azure Midstream Partners
Shares of Azure Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: AZUR) recovered handily this week, with one research report potentially a huge catalyst, above and beyond the recovery in oil and energy. Janney Capital Markets maintained its Buy rating on Azure Midstream Partners and maintained its fair value estimate of $30.00.
Janney believes the company’s distribution is both safe and sustainable (well into double-digit yield equivalent) and also thinks it is a special opportunity for investors to add to positions. Azure shares closed trading at $8.19 on Friday, and its 52-week range is $5.29 to $24.18.
ALSO READ: 2 High-Yielding MLPs Upgraded Despite Ugly Sector View
Again, we cannot stress enough that analyst calls with 50% to 100% are by nature going to bring more risk than traditional Dow or S&P 500 stocks. Some of these companies would be suitable only for very aggressive investors. No widows and orphans funds should dare consider calls of this sort.
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