Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was reiterated as Buy with an $11 price target at Jefferies on March 7. This was versus an $8.39 prior close, and Friday’s closing price was $8.24 after a 3.4% gain. The stock has a 52-week range of $7.00 to $10.87, and its consensus price target is $10.16. If readers want a tempering or counter-call against the bullishness here, Regions was on the American Banker’s list of 10 banks whose stocks are getting hurt by low oil prices with shares down close to 20% from a year ago.
Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) was started as Buy with a price target of $15 at Deutsche Bank on March 10. This was versus a $6.65 closing price ahead of the call, but Friday acted as give-back of the gains as shares fell 11% to $6.36, after earnings and 2016 guidance for residential solar energy systems failed to drive the stock. The consensus price target is now lower at $14.71, but it had been $18.42 ahead of Deutsche Bank’s call. Sunrun’s 52-week range is $4.86 to $14.95.
Weatherford International PLC (NYSE: WFT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs in a big oil price range upgrade. Its price target was raised to $9.75 from $8.00, compared to a $6.61 prior close. Weatherford had a consensus price target of $9.20 and a 52-week range of $4.95 to $14.91, and its market cap was roughly $5.6 billion. It was also named in the UBS top oil services stocks to buy for when oil pops this past week. UBS has a price target of $11.00 on the stock. Weatherford shares rose 9.5% to $7.24 on Friday after the Goldman Sachs call.
Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PTI) was started as Outperform with a $20 price target at RBC Capital Markets on March 7. This was versus a $5.56 close, but shares closed Friday at $8.96 after falling 6% that day. If RBC’s price target seems too aggressive, Proteostasis was also started with a Buy rating and was assigned a $15 price target at H.C. Wainwright last week. The stock has a 52-week range of $5.27 to $13.99. This is a new company, being one of the few IPOs to make it to market in 2016 with a February 11 IPO price of $8.00 per share for 6.25 million shares. The company offers disease-modifying therapeutics for cystic fibrosis. Leerink Partners and R.W. Baird, which were also underwriting firms in the IPO syndicate, each have also assigned an Outperform rating.
Determine Inc. (NASDAQ: DTRM) is a microcap niche stock that deserves a special caveat. Its market cap is barely $21 million and the average volume is only about 20,000 shares per day. The company is also set to present at a ROTH Capital conference in the coming week. The stock was started as Buy with a $4.50 price target at Maxim Group on March 9. Note that it was versus a $1.60 close ahead of the call, but shares went out on Friday at $1.92. Determine offers enterprise contract management solutions like Selectica SmartContracts. Its 52-week range is $1.39 to $7.99.
Again, on Wall Street there is no such thing as a free lunch. What sounds like big upside potential can easily turn a large sum of money into a pile of ashes.