Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: BlackRock, Bristol-Myers, Level 3, NVIDIA, Monsanto, 21st Century Fox and More
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Stocks were indicated to open marginally higher on Monday, even after hitting new highs last week. Investors are still looking for ways to make money, and they have proven over and over for six years that they will buy stocks on every pullback.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning of the week. The goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy. Other reports feature stocks to sell or avoid.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday morning:
BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) was maintained as Buy at Goldman Sachs, but the firm removed it from the prized Conviction Buy list. Its price target was moved to $400 from $390 (versus a $374.75 prior close). BlackRock has a 52-week trading range of $275.00 to $375.26.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $63 price target (versus a $63.28 close) at Credit Suisse. This is after the big drug disappointment sent shares down almost 16% on Friday. The 52-week range is $51.82 to $77.12.
Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $63 price target (versus a $49.27 close) at BTIG. It has a consensus analyst price target of $60.67 and a 52-week range of $40.86 to $57.59.
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $69 from $56 (versus a $58.20 close) at Jefferies. This call is ahead of earnings, and Jefferies thinks NVIDIA products have momentum and that there is high probability for more upside surprises over the next six to 18 months.
Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Monness Crespi Hardt. Shares closed at $106.93, versus a consensus price target of $112.71 and in a 52-week range of $106.48 to $107.48.
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (NASDAQ: FOXA) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $29 from $33 (versus a $25.64 close) at Barclays.
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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen as follows:
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas.
Carter’s Inc. (NYSE: CRI) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Monness Crespi Hardt.
Chesapeake Utilities Corp. (NYSE: CPK) was raised to Buy from Neutral by Janney.
Cogent Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CCOI) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. Oppenheimer reiterated its Outperform rating and its $45 price target.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $62 from $65 (versus a $59.71 close) at Nomura.
EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Wunderlich.
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $41 from $38 (versus a $32.43 close) at Morgan Stanley.
IAMGOLD Corp. (NYSE: IAG) was raised to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital Markets.
Nevro Corp. (NASDAQ: NVRO) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $100 price objective at Merrill Lynch.
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch, noting that pricing worries slow near-term growth views.
Oclaro Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLR) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $9 price target (versus a $6.31 close) at Cowen.
PDC Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PDCE) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $58 price target (versus a $55.48 close) at BMO Capital Markets.
Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) was reiterated as Outperform but the price target was raised to $32 from $30 (versus a $29.27 close) at Oppenheimer.
RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at R.W. Baird.
Royal Bank Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie.
Nine of Credit Suisse’s Top Picks list have an implied upside of more than 50%.
Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included FireEye, Occidental Petroleum, SeaWorld, Teva Pharmaceutical, Windstream, Zynga and over a dozen more.
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