Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Facebook, First Solar, Hess, Texas Instruments, US Steel, Vertex, Infinera and More

April 28, 2016 by Jon C. Ogg

Stocks were indicated to open handily lower on Thursday, after a disappointing no-change stance from the Bank of Japan caused stocks to slide globally. Despite the prices on Thursday, the investors theme that has prevailed of late is the return to buying the dips. Just keep in mind that the S&P 500’s last value seen was about 17.8 times its forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, after peaking at 17.9 last week.

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

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

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was last seen trading up 11% at $120.95 (versus a prior 52-week range of $72.00 to $117.59) after soaring mobile ad business outperformed expectations. This is even after Facebook said it will pursue a split with a new class of shares that will further consolidate the powers of Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $160 from $145 at Jefferies. Oppenheimer maintained its Outperform rating but raised its target to $140 from $130. Stifel reiterated its Buy rating but raised its target to $145 from $130. RBC reiterated its Outperform rating but raised its target to $165 from $160.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was last seen down 2% at $60.75, after earnings and news that its CEO was resigning. First Solar was reiterated as Buy at Janney, and the fair value estimates on a sum of the parts analysis was raised to $89 from $86. Oppenheimer kept its Outperform and $80 target, noting that the CEO transition is a net positive for shares. First Solar’s pre-news consensus analyst target was $77.15, and its 52-week trading range is $40.25 to $74.29.


Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse, but the firm raised its target to $65 from $60 (versus a $61.27 prior close). The consensus target price is $60.43, and the 52-week range is $32.41 to $78.87.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) was indicated up 1.5% at $60.78 after earnings beat expectation. It was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $69 from $62 at Jefferies. RBC maintained its Outperform rating but raised its target price to $68 from $65. Cowen kept its Market Perform rating but raised its target to $60 from $56. Oppenheimer maintained its Outperform rating and $70 target.

United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) was indicated down 2.7% at $18.02 after disappointing earnings. The stock was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Macquarie. Cowen maintained its Market Perform rating and raised its target to $18 from $8. The consensus price target is $12.86, and the 52-week range is $6.15 to $27.09.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) was last seen down about 3% at $82.00 or so after its cystic fibrosis drug sales disappointed and missed earnings estimates. Vertex was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs. RBC maintained its Outperform rating but lowered its target to $115 from $135. Vertex had a consensus price target of $121.15, and the 52-week range is $75.90 to $143.45.

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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:
American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $46 price target (versus a $36.71 close) at Morgan Stanley.

America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: AMX) was last seen down 10% at $14.05 after missing earnings estimates due to challenging market conditions. Merrill Lynch downgraded it to Neutral from Buy.

BOK Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: BOKF) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

EverBank Financial Corp. (NYSE: EVER) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy with a $17 price target (versus a $15.20 close) at Raymond James.

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $35 from $40 at Jefferies. Barclays downgraded First Energy to Equal Weight from Overweight.

Infinera Corp. (NASDAQ: INFN) closed up about 3% ahead of earnings, but the news that it beat earnings but lowered guidance had shares down over 14% at $13.30 on Thursday morning. Citigroup downgraded Infinera to Neutral from Buy, with the same downgrade from MKM Partners. Stifel maintained its Buy rating, but the price target was cut to $19 from $23.

Kirby Corp. (NYSE: KEX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $54 from $59 (versus a $65.24 close) at Evercore ISI.


L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $91 target price (versus a $78.81 close) at Bernstein.

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $38 from $36 at Jefferies.

OSI Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Benchmark, and shares were indicated lower than the $59.58 close after missing earnings estimates.

Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: SIX) was reiterated as Buy at Janney, and the firm raised its fair value estimate to $68 from $64 (versus a $61.33 close) with the note that “it’s time to get on board before the summer starts” after earnings beat expectations. Oppenheimer kept its Outperform rating and $65 target, noting it was the best first quarter ever.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apple, Chipotle Mexican Grill, eBay, JetBlue, Kraft Heinz, Twitter, Gap, National Oilwell Varco and over a dozen more.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Broadcom, Caterpillar, Sirius XM, Newmont Mining, Palo Alto Networks, Perrigo, Sarepta Therapeutics, Xerox and over a dozen more companies.

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