6 Analyst Upgrades Too Big to Ignore: Arris, Continental, Devon, Kraft Heinz, NXP, Qorvo

Each morning of the week is met with dozens of analyst reports, upgrading and downgrading stocks ahead of or after news. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many of these daily and weekly, but some analyst upgrades and downgrades are too big to ignore.

Thursday’s full list of analyst upgrades and downgrades included over 20 companies, but six of these analyst calls stood out handily, where the upgrade itself was huge or where many analysts raised targets or ratings in their calls.

Arris International PLC (NASDAQ: ARRS) may have posted a net loss, but the company beat estimates and managed to raise guidance for the second quarter, noting that full-year targets remain on track. Arris shares were up 8.2% at $25.03 on Thursday morning, and three target price hikes have been seen: Goldman Sachs (Buy) to $27 from $25, Needham (Buy) to $30 from $28 and RBC Capital Markets (Outperform) to $31 from $29.

Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR) was last seen trading up 13% at $39.58, despite reporting a loss on Wednesday. The boost wasn’t from missing earnings estimates but from boosting production targets on more profitable fields. BMO Capital Markets has an Outperform rating but raised its target price to $37. Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating and raised its price target to $43.50 from $41.50. Raymond James was the big upgrade, up to Strong Buy, and its price target rose to $50 from $42. UBS has a mere Neutral rating, but it conceded enough that it raised its price target to $38 from $22.

Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) may have posted a loss, but that loss did narrow, and its output targets are being given a thumbs-up view with cost cuts and asset sales ahead. Credit Suisse maintained an Outperform rating but upgraded its target to $40 from $37. Barclays has an Overweight rating, but it upgraded its price target to $34 from $26. Bernstein has an Outperform rating and raised its target to $38. Shares closed at $31.31 on Wednesday and were up 3.4% at $32.40 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $18.07 to $68.10, and the consensus analyst price target is $35.89.
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Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ: KHC) was last seen trading up 4.7% at $83.69 after earnings. Analysts continue to underestimate this newly re-amalgamated food giant that is benefiting from cost cutting along with higher sales and earnings. Many more analysts raised targets than are stated here, but here are a few: Bernstein (to $99 from $95), Goldman Sachs (to $93 from $89), JPMorgan (to $89 from $85), Morgan Stanley (to $89 from $82), RBC Capital Markets (to $92 from $88) and UBS (to $92 from $87). The stock hit a new 52-week and post-amalgamation high of $83.88, with a yearly low of $61.42.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) continues to win from credit card chips and other opportunities in the semiconductor space. Its shares also remain very off of their highs. The stock was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. The firm’s $110 price target compares to a previous close of $83.82. Thursday morning’s trading session had shares up 1.8% at $85.35. The consensus target price is $107.88, and the 52-week range is $61.61 to $114.00.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO) rose after beating earnings expectations and guiding the quarter higher above consensus estimates. Shares of this $6 billion mobile RF technology player were last seen up almost 9% at $48.50, within a 52-week range of $33.30 to $88.35. Here were a handful of the target price hikes: BMO Capital Markets (Outperform, to $57 from $50); Citigroup (Sell, to $40 from $35); Craig-Hallum (Buy, to $58 from $56); Needham (Buy, to $53 from $50); and D.A. Davidson (Buy, to $70 from $65).