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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Biogen, Broadcom, Devon Energy, Gilead, Mondelez, Urban Outfitters and More
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Stocks were indicated marginally higher after the long weekend. With the Dow and S&P 500 being so close to all-time highs, investors have proven over and over that they will buy stocks after every market sell-off. Those same investors are also looking for new ideas to generate income or gains ahead.
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. Some of these analyst reports cover stocks to buy. Other reports feature stocks to sell or to avoid.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday morning:
Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, but the price target was raised to $323 and the company noted that it could fetch $373 to $400 a share under buyout scenarios. The stock closed most recently at $313.59 and has a 52-week range of $223.02 to $333.65. Its consensus analyst price target is $340.33.
Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was reiterated as Buy at Argus, and the firm raised its price target by $11 to $195 per share. Shares closed at $173.11 on Friday and have a 52-week range of $111.53 to $179.42. The consensus price target is $202.46. Many other firms chased their targets higher as well.
Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. It closed at $44.27 and has a 52-week range of $18.07 to $48.68, with a consensus price target of $45.84.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was raised to Buy at Jefferies, but the firm kept its $91 price target. The stock closed at $76.89, and it has a 52-week range of $76.67 to $113.31 and a consensus price target of $105.24.
Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. It closed at $44.19 ahead of the call and has a 52-week range of $35.88 to $47.42. The consensus price target is $50.27.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was added to the Franchise Picks list at Jefferies, with the price target raised to $45 from $40 (versus a $36.10 prior close). The stock has a 52-week range of $19.26 to $37.82 and a consensus price target of $36.31.
Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was added to the Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy list, with a $101 price target (versus an $83.11 close). Shares are down from a high of $99.93 as the dollar store earnings were chased down handily by analysts. At least this is a “buy on weakness” call rather than a “buy after it ran up” call. Still, the call gave little or no boost to the stock.
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Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades were seen as follows:
comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $34 price target (versus a $31.81 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a $109 price target at Oppenheimer.
Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a $420 price target at Oppenheimer.
Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE) was started as Neutral with a $42 price target (versus a $43.40 close) at Goldman Sachs.
Greif Inc. (NYSE: GEF) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
Medpace Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MEDP) was started as Hold with a $32.50 price target (versus a $30.70 close) at Jefferies. Credit Suisse started coverage as Outperform with a $35 target price.
Michaels Companies Inc. (NYSE: MIK) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, but the firm reaffirmed its $29 price target.
Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL) was maintained as a Sector Perform rating and the price target was cut to $48 from $52 at RBC Capital Markets.
Oclaro Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLR) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $10.00 from $7.50 (versus an $8.39 close) at Stifel.
ONEOK Partners L.P. (NYSE: OKS) was raised to Neutral from Underweight with a $40 price target (versus a $39.29 close) at JPMorgan.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $38 from $32 (versus a $33.92 close) at Jefferies.
Verifone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus after last week’s weak earnings and outlook crushed its shares.
Other key analyst calls from Tuesday were as follows:
Ellie Mae Inc. (NYSES: ELLI) was started as Overweight with a $124 price target (versus a $98.80 close) at Pacific Crest.
Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PTGX) was started as Overweight with a price target of $18 at Barclays. Leerink assigned a Outperform rating and $17 price target, and BMO Capital Markets started coverage with a Outperform rating and $21 price target. Shares closed at $12.08.
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Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Carnival, Ciena, MercadoLibre, Spark Therapeutics, Smith & Wesson, Teva Pharmaceutical, Verifone and close to a dozen more.
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