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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Arista Networks, McDonald's, TripAdvisor, Newmont Mining, Nike, Visa and More

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The market seesawed last week, digesting some of the big gains since the election in early November. With 2016 almost over, many portfolio managers and investors are looking to make some changes as the time for tax loss selling is upon us. With the futures trading higher this morning, we may open the week with some solid gains and new all-time highs.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while others cover stocks to sell or avoid.

These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

Air Products Inc. (NYSE: APD) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $106.05 to $146.01. Its consensus price objective is $148.89. The shares closed last Friday at $144.55.

Arista Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ANET) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $52.51 to $96.84. The consensus price objective is $91.73. This could be a valuation call.

Flowserve Inc. (NYSE: FLS) has the firm’s price target raised to $135 from $123 at Stifel, which maintained a Buy rating. The firm cited the company’s broad exposure to the oil and gas markets for the price increase. The 52-week range is $33.86 to $52.50. The consensus price objective is $44, but the stock closed way above that Friday at $49.42.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is raised to Buy from Neutral at Nomura. The 52-week trading range for the fast-food giant is $110.33 to $131.96. The consensus Wall Street price objective is $127.24. The shares ended last week at $118.24.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is raised to Buy from Hold at HSBC Securities. The 52-week trading range for the apparel and sports shoe giant is $49.01 to $68.18. With the stock closing last Friday at $50.46, the firm may see solid value at these trading levels.

Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF) was downgraded to Market Perform from Buy at Keefe Bruyette. The consensus price target for the brokerage firm is $70.13, and the 52-week range is $39.84 to $73.87. With the stock closing last Friday at $72.96, the analyst may see the shares as fully valued for now.

Tailored Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $10.90 to $19.43. The consensus price target is $18.67. With the stock closing Friday at $19.23, this could be another straight valuation call.

TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) is raised to Hold from Sell at Stifel. The 52-week trading range is $45.95 to $87.50 The consensus price objective is posted at $53.80. The stock closed Friday at $46.46.

Vascular Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VASC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity and from Overweight to Neutral at Piper Jaffray. Shares have traded in a 52-week range of $24.34 to $57.15. With the stock closing at $56 last Friday, these downgrades reflect the $56 takeout offer the company received last week from Teleflex.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is raised to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $66.12 to $83.96. The consensus price target for the credit card giant is $93.70. The stock closed last Friday at $75.72, and shares are looking up marginally in today premarket trading.

Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Robert W. Baird; however, the firm did lower its price target on the stock to $130 from $135. The 52-week trading range is $91.72 to $136.27. The consensus price target is $139.08. The stock closed up nicely on Friday at $114.03.

Ferrellgas Partners L.P. (NYSE: FGP) is raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup. The 52-week range is $5.04 to $20.85. The consensus price objective is $8. The stock closed last Friday at $5.65.

Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Citigroup. The 52-week trading range is $1.31 to $5.82. The consensus price target is set at $5.49 The shares closed last Friday at $3.47.

Newmont Mining Inc. (NYSE: NEM) is another gold stock lowered at Citigroup. The firm downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy. The 52-week range is $16.05 to $46.07, and the consensus price objective is $43.82. The shares closed last Friday at $33.58, and that was up over 4%.

RSP Permian Inc. (NYSE: RSPP) is raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range is $16.74 to $44.74. The consensus price target is $50.59. The shares close Friday at $44.36.

Vince Holding Corp. (NYSE: VNCE) is raised to Buy from Hold at Stifel. The 52-week range is $3.45 to $8.11. The consensus price target is $6.88. The stock close last Friday at $3.90.

Credit Suisse initiated many retail stocks with Neutral ratings in new coverage. Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was the sole Outperform rating with a $165 price target. The Neutral ratings and price targets were shown individually below:

  • The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) with a target price of $70.
  • Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) with a target price of $60.
  • Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) with a target price of $40.
  • Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) with a target price of $45.
  • Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) with a target price of $48.
  • J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) with a target price of $7.
  • Burlington Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: BURL) with a target price of $75.

Deutsche Bank lifted price targets on several key steel stocks on Monday. The firm believes that pricing benefits will mostly flow to the bottom line, due to domestic steel mills facing a more favorable cost outlook than their global peers. Deutsche Bank also noted that the Donald Trump election victory has been followed by a renewed investor focus on steel. Price target hikes were seen as follows:

  • AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) was maintained as Hold but the price target was raised to $10 from $6.
  • Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $73 from $55.
  • Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $95 from $78.
  • Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $42 from $31.
  • United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) was maintained as Buy and the target was raised to $40 from $24.

If you missed last Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included Exxon Mobil, International Paper, J.C. Penney, Ulta Beauty and more.

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