Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AIG, AT&T, Freeport-McMoRan, Halliburton, LendingClub, Range Resources, Salesforce, SecureWorks and More

courtesy of Jon Ogg

Stocks were indicated lower on Tuesday after two solid days of gains. The trend that has remained is that investors keep proving that they are looking for opportunities and hidden gems. So far, they are more than willing to buy the big market dips.

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

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

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. AIG has a consensus analyst price target of $63.67 and has a 52-week trading range of $50.20 to $64.93.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $44 from $42 (versus a $39.28 prior close) at D.A. Davidson. Its consensus price target is $39.62, and the 52-week range is $30.97 to $39.72.


Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $15.00 from $12.50 (versus an $11.04 close) at Jefferies, Accretive asset sales and entering a period of strong cash flows were cited. The consensus price target is $10.70. The 52-week range is $3.52 to $21.85.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $49 from $44 (versus a $40.18 close) at FBR Capital Markets. The consensus price target is $45.33. Shares have a 52-week range of $27.64 to $46.69.

LendingClub Corp. (NYSE: LC) is now being investigated, sending shares down 9% to $3.56 after Monday’s 12% gain. It was maintained as Sell but the price target was cut to $3 from $4 at Compass Point. The consensus analyst target is $8.77, and the 52-week range is $3.50 to $19.48.

Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. Shares closed down 10% at $37.69, with a consensus price target of $43.32 and a 52-week range of $19.21 to $59.88.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was reiterated as Hold but the price target was raised to $74 from $60 (versus a $77.31 close) at Jefferies, This is ahead of earnings, and the firm noted that it expects earnings to at least meet, but likely exceed, expectations this week. Still, Jefferies called the stock fairly valued. It has a consensus price target of $90.05 and a 52-week range of $52.60 to $82.90.

SecureWorks Corp. (NASDAQ: SCWX) saw its quiet period come to an end, shares rising 10.9% at $13.81, on Monday. The stock was started as Buy with a $17.50 target at Goldman Sachs. RBC started it as Outperform with a $16 target. Barclays started it as Overweight with a $16 target, and Citigroup and Credit Suisse both started it as Neutral. Pac-Crest and JPMorgan both started it as Overweight but with an $18 target, and Stifel gave it a Buy rating and $18 target.

You can follow @Jonogg to get the daily analyst calls and market reports directly on your Twitter feed.

Other key analyst upgrades and downgraded were seen in the following companies on Tuesday:
Aduro BioTech Inc. (NASDAQ: ADRO) closed down almost 17% at $8.91 on bad cancer drug trial news. The stock was maintained as Outperform at FBR Capital Markets, but the target price was cut to $22 from $30.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) was reiterated as Buy and the fair value estimate was raised to $52 from $45 (versus a $42.94 close) at Janney. This is after beating earnings estimates and raising guidance.

Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) was started as Hold with a $40 target price (versus a $37.65 close) at Stifel.

Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $78 from $67 (versus a $63.28 close) at Piper Jaffray.

DigitalGlobe Inc. (NYSE: DGI) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and with a $23 a price target (versus a $21.30 close) at Morgan Stanley.

F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at Pac-Crest.

Fogo de Chao Inc. (NASDAQ: FOGO) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was cut to $16 from $20 (versus a $15.65 close) at JPMorgan.

Gastar Exploration Ltd. (NYSE: GST) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral with a piddly $0.25 price target (versus a $0.95 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.


HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HSBC) was raised to Buy from Hold at Investec.

Memorial Resource Development Corp. (NYSE: MRD) was downgraded to Market Perform from Strong Buy at Raymond James on the heels of it being acquired.

South Jersey Industries Inc. (NYSE: SJI) was reiterated as Buy with a $30 price target (versus a $28.60 close) at Janney.

Sovran Self Storage Inc. (NYSE: SSS) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform but the price target was raised to $120 from $114 (versus a $115.61) at BMO Capital Markets.

Terex  Corp. (NYSE: TEX) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo, and it was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $30 target price at R.W. Baird.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades include Alaska Air, Boeing, Deutsche Bank, J.C. Penney, Lowe’s MGM Growth, Nokia, Vornado and more.

Sponsored: Attention Savvy Investors: Speak to 3 Financial Experts – FREE

Ever wanted an extra set of eyes on an investment you’re considering? Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply
clicking here
you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help guide you through the financial decisions you’re making. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.


Click here
to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.