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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Adobe, Apple, Bristol-Myers, Citigroup, Ford, Groupon, Phillips 66, United Rentals and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: October 16, 2017 8:55 am

Last Updated: March 20, 2020 11:22 am

Stocks were indicated to open higher on Monday, and investors understand that the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq are all fighting for all-time highs again. The trend that has ruled without fail for more than five years of this eight-and-a-half-year-old bull market is that investors keep finding new reasons to buy stocks after every market sell-off. Investors are also hunting for new investing and trading ideas with their capital.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day. Our goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some of the top analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while other calls cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

The consensus analyst price target data and valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service. Additional color and commentary has also been added on most of these daily analyst calls.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Monday, October 16, 2017.

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $160 price target (versus a $153.93 prior close) at Deutsche Bank. Adobe has a 52-week trading range of $98.00 to $157.89 and a consensus analyst price target of $164.30.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $187 price target (versus a $173.75 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. Apple has a 52-week range of $104.08 to $164.94 and a consensus price target of $173.75.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $71 from $72 (versus a $65.29 close) at Jefferies. Bristol-Myers has a 52-week range of $46.01 to $66.10 and a consensus price target of $59.86.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was downgraded to Sell at Hold with a $65 price target (versus a $72.11 close) at Societe Generale. Citigroup has a 52-week range of $47.70 to $76.14 and a consensus price target of $76.23.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform with a $13 price target (versus a $12.05 close) at RBC Capital Markets. Ford has a 52-week range of $10.47 to $13.27 and a consensus price target of $11.91.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Cowen. It has a 52-week range of $2.90 to $5.38 and a consensus price target of $4.46.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) was downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies. Phillips 66 has a 52-week range of $75.14 to $95.00 and a consensus price target of $92.81.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $165 from $150 (versus a $144.21 close) at Jefferies. The 52-week range is $70.58 to $145.56, and the consensus price target is $136.46.

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Other top analyst calls were seen as follows:

Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ABEO) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $30 from $20 (versus a $16.10 close) at H.C. Wainwright. Shares were down over 8% on Friday but were indicated up 7% at $17.25 on Monday.

ABIOMED Inc. (NASDAQ: ABMD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG.

Alkermes PLC (NASDAQ: ALKS) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $152 from $102 at Evercore ISI.

Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) was downgraded to Negative from Neutral at Susquehanna.

El Paso Electric Co. (NYSE: EE) was downgraded to Underperform from Hold and the price target was cut to $51 from $57 (versus a $58.10 close) at Jefferies.

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Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $92 price target (versus an $82.29 close) at Jefferies.

Fairmount Santrol Holdings Inc. (NYSE: FMSA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Floor & Decor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: FND) was started as Overweight and assigned a $46 price target at JPMorgan.  The stock closed at $36.86 a share, and it has a consensus analyst target of $41.38.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform by Cowen.

KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE: KKR) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $24 price target (versus a $19.91 close) at Goldman Sachs.

La Quinta Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LQ) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE) was already rated as Buy but was added to the Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs, which also has a $159 price target (versus a $150.55 close).

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Yext Inc. (NYSE: YEXT) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

If you missed Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included AGCO, Ford, General Motors, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netflix, Visa and many more.