Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: American Express, AT&T, eBay, Intel, Qualcomm, Teradyne and Many More

Stocks were looking for direction on Thursday morning, but the VIX is challenging multiyear lows and the market has risen up and away to new highs. Brexit just feels so long ago, and stock valuations being high might not matter in a low-rate climate for longer than ever expected. Investors have proven over and over that they will buy their favorite stocks on pullbacks.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning in an effort to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some of these 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 Thursday morning:

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was up 0.5% at $64.48 ahead of earnings and was trading down 1.5% at $63.50 afterward. The 52-week trading range is $50.27 to $81.66. American Express was reiterated as Underperform at Credit Suisse with a $62 price target, and Merrill Lynch maintained its Underperform rating with a $51 price objective.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was maintained as Buy with a $44 price target at Jefferies, but the firm removed it from the Franchise Picks List. The stock is up 25% so far this year on improving wireless trends, as well as on the DirecTV benefits and on investors hunting for yield. Jefferies believes that AT&T is well positioned among its peers with solid metrics. It closed most recently at $42.77.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) closed up almost 2% at $26.99 ahead of earnings and was last seen up 6% at $28.56 in the earnings reaction, in a 52-week range of $21.52 to $29.83. eBay was reiterated as Buy at Merrill Lynch, and the price objective was raised to $35 from $30 in the call. Credit Suisse maintained its Neutral rating but raised the price target to $31 from $28.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) was last seen down over 2% at $34.85 despite beating earnings and giving slight upside on guidance. Intel was reiterated as Buy at Jefferies, and the price target was raised to $44 from $42, with the firm seeing gross margin expansion and lower unit costs. Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price objective to $42 from $40.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was last seen trading up over 8% at $60.60 after beating earnings expectations. The stock was already rated as Buy at Goldman Sachs, but the firm added it to the prized Conviction Buy List with a $70 price target. Cowen reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $62 from $60. Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating and $65 price objective. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $70 from $67.

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Other top analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen as follows:

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