Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Anheuser-Busch, Charter Communications, Costco, Nike, TiVo, Under Armour, Whole Foods and More
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Stocks were handily lower on Wednesday, after a very light volume Tuesday that was loaded full of economic reports. With the start of June at hand, the question to ask is if the “Sell in May and go away” mantra is appropriate for 2016.
Investors have proved this year that they will buy the big market dips. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others feature stocks to sell or avoid.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday morning:
Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD) was raised to Buy from Hold at Investec (overseas). The American depositary shares closed most recently at $126.22, and the stock has a consensus analyst price target of $136.95 and a 52-week trading range of $102.58 to $132.91.
Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James. The stock closed at $218.94, and it has a 52-week range of $156.13 to $233.70.
Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $175 price target (versus a $148.77 prior close) at Goldman Sachs. The consensus price target is $168.08, and the 52-week range is $117.03 to $169.73.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $60 from $69 (versus a $55.22 close) at Morgan Stanley. It has a consensus price target of $71.32 and a 52-week range of $47.25 to $68.19.
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) was down 1.5% at $9.80 after earnings were short of estimates. It was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $10.70 from $12.00 (versus a $9.95 close) at MKM Partners. The consensus price target is $12.78. The 52-week range is $7.29 to $10.83.
Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) was maintained as Hold at Jefferies, but the price target was cut to $42 from $45 (versus a $37.73 close). This is after it quantified its exposure to the Sports Authority bankruptcy, but Jefferies is mainly concerned about high expectations, valuation and the potential rise of Adidas back into the U.S. market. The consensus price target is $54.00. The 52-week range is $31.62 to $52.95.
Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $40 from $30 (versus a $32.35 close) at Credit Suisse. It has a consensus price target of $29.71 and a 52-week range of $28.07 to $41.97.
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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades from this Tuesday were seen in the following companies:
Acxiom Corp. (NASDAQ: ACXM) was started as Outperform at William Blair.
Briggs & Stratton Corp. (NYSE: BGG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Strong Buy at Raymond James.
Cardiome Pharma Corp. (NASDAQ: CRME) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a $9.50 price target (versus a $4.68 close) at H.C. Wainwright.
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE) is now Coca-Cola European Partners. After a 24% drop to $38.81 after the merger, it was started with a Buy rating and $44.50 price objective at Merrill Lynch.
CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust Inc. (NYSE: CORR) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $32 price target (versus a $24.05 close) at Stifel.
Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) was started with an Outperform rating at Wells Fargo.
First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: FR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $26 price target at Jefferies.
HMS Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: HMSY) was started with an Outperform rating and was assigned a $19 price target (versus a $16.53 close) at Credit Suisse.
InterXion Holding N.V. (NYSE: INXN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral with a $15 price target (versus an $18.61 close) at Credit Suisse.
Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) was started with an Overweight rating and $41 price target (versus a $31.80 close) at Barclays.
Relypsa Inc. (NASDAQ: RLYP) was raised to Neutral from Underperform and the price target was raised to $20 from $12 (versus a $19.10 close) at Mizuho Securities.
Synchronoss Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCR) was started with a Buy rating and was given a $48 price target (versus a $35.27 close) at Drexel Hamilton.
TIER REIT Inc. (NYSE: TIER) was reiterated as Buy with a $17 fair value estimate at Janney, and the firm called it one of the more undervalued names in the real estate investment trust space.
Ultimate Software Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTI) was started with an Overweight rating and was assigned a $225 price target (versus a $204.48 close) at Piper Jaffray.
Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades were in shares of Cliffs Natural Resources, Deere, Lockheed Martin, Micron Technology, Zillow and a dozen or so more.
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