Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apple, Alcoa, Aetna, Barracuda, GoPro, Pulte, United Tech and Many More
January 8, 2016 9:05 am
Last Updated: January 13, 2020 3:16 pm
Stocks actually were stabilizing on Friday on the heels of the worst four-day start for the markets in our lifetime. China stabilized, at least for a day, and we saw a stronger than expected payrolls report. The one trend that prevailed for more than four years was that investors bought every market pullback.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some of the daily analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.
These are the top analyst calls for Friday, January 8, 2016.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is getting more of those price target cuts that readers were warned about last month. Cowen has a Market Perform rating but cut its target to $125 from $130. Canaccord Genuity has a Buy rating but cut its target price down to $146 from $160.
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie, now that shares have gone so low. After closing at $8.27, Alcoa has a consensus analyst target price of $11.38 and a 52-week trading range of $7.81 to $17.10.
Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, and the firm’s price target was lowered from $135.00 to $122.00 in the call, with lower earnings estimates as well.
GoPro Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) was maintained as Overweight at Barclays, but the firm slashed its price target to $25.00 from $40.00. GoPro closed at $17.00 on Thursday, has a $32.24 consensus price target and has a 52-week range of $15.90 to $65.49.
PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $19.00 price target at Raymond James. The stock closed down 4% at $16.22 on Thursday. It has a consensus price target of $21.21 and a 52-week range of $16.17 to $23.36.
United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein, and the firm cut its price target to $104 from $116. This is on sluggish growth and an elusive turnaround. Jefferies kept its Buy rating but lowered its target price to $135 from $142. UTC was just given a 2016 bullish and bearish outlook against 3M and GE this week.
Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday were for the following:
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.