Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: ArcelorMittal, Boeing, Intel, Schlumberger, Yahoo, Vivint Solar, Johnson & Johnson and More

Stocks were indicated higher yet again on Wednesday, with the Dow over 18,000 and the S&P 500 back at 2,100. The memories of all the selling pressure during the first six weeks of 2016 are fading into earnings season, and investors have clearly reverted back to the trend of buying pullbacks that prevailed from 2011 to 2015.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning of the week to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

These are top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday morning:

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $7.00 from $4.50 (versus a $5.87 prior close) at Jefferies. It was downgraded at JPMorgan on Monday (to Underweight from Neutral), after two upgrades last week: Goldman Sachs up to Buy and Credit Suisse up to Outperform. ArcelorMittal has a 52-week trading range of $2.93 to $11.95.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) has been downgraded from an unenthusiastic Neutral rating to Underperform, the equivalent of Sell rating, at Merrill Lynch. Its price objective is only $125. This downgrade is based on a serious issue with the 787 Dreamliner forecasts. Boeing’s own view is that the 787 Dreamliner will generate $29 billion in cash by 2022, but Merrill Lynch now expects only $14 billion to be generated, and it sees Boeing taking a charge on the 787 program or extending the block size as the $30 million profit per plane on average was called unachievable. The consensus price target is $137.95, and the 52-week range is $102.10 to $153.00.


Intel Corp.

 (NASDAQ: INTC) may have posted earnings and announced layoffs, but there is a mixed review from analysts. Intel was reiterated as Buy at Jefferies, but the firm raised its price target to $42 from $39, based on better margins and its reorganization. S&P Capital IQ reiterated its Buy rating and said that Intel is executing well with its plans to migrate away from a PC-oriented company. Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating and $36 price objective, noting that Intel could have an upside case of $40 to $45, based on $3.00 in EPS potential. Intel has traded in a $24.87 to $35.59 range over the past 52 weeks.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $130 from $116 (versus a $112.68 close) at Argus. The call is based on further upside expectations after strong first-quarter results and an upbeat outlook for 2016. Note that the highest official analyst price target in the Thomson First Call universe was only $123.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $93 from $83 (versus a $79.64 close) at Barclays. The stock closed up 2.8% the prior day, and the consensus price target of $84.28 compares to a 52-week range of $59.60 to $95.13.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) was reiterated as Buy at Jefferies after earnings, with the firm raising its price target to $43 from $40. Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price objective to $48 from $46 on recent Yahoo! Japan appreciation, and the firm only sees downside to $36 based on the current Alibaba stock price. Oppenheimer reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target to $49 from $40. The 52-week range is $26.15 to $45.10.

Vivint Solar Inc. (NYSE: VSLR) was resumed in coverage at Merrill Lynch with a $2 price objective (versus a $3.01 close). This is based on its cost, growth and financing concerns and also on 10-times EBITDA and 12% cash flow yield. Vivint Solar has a 52-week trading range of $2.32 to $16.00.

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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:

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