Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Bed Bath & Beyond, BlackBerry, ConocoPhillips, JPMorgan, Micron, PGE, Wells Fargo and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: December 21, 2017 9:00 am

Last Updated: March 20, 2020 11:30 am

Stocks have hit all-time highs going into tax reform’s passage, and now we are starting to see Wall Street strategists raise growth expectations for 2018. While stocks were indicated marginally higher on Thursday, it is important to keep in mind that this bull market is now nearing nine years old and that investors have continued to do well buying pullbacks. Investors are also looking for new investing and trading ideas to generate gains and income into 2018.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for investors and traders alike. Some daily analyst reports and research reports cover stocks to buy. Others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

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

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Thursday, December 21, 2017.

ABIOMED Inc. (NASDAQ: ABMD) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $220 from $208 (versus a $193.69 prior close) at Jefferies. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $103.53 to $200.28.

Axovant Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ: AXON) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $6 from $12 at Jefferies. After closing up 0.6% at $5.21 on Wednesday, its shares were indicated down 4% at $5.00 on Thursday. The 52-week range is $4.60 to $27.98.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was up 2.5% at $24.57 ahead of earnings but was last seen down 5.6% at $23.20 afterward. Jefferies reiterated it at Hold with a $25 price target. Wedbush Securities maintained its Neutral rating and lowered its price target to $23. Credit Suisse reiterated its Neutral rating, noting that margins are falling and that its stabilization path is unclear. Merrill Lynch reiterated its Underperform rating and $19 price objective.

BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE: BB) was up almost 12% at $12.17 on Wednesday after earnings. Merrill Lynch called it a low-quality earnings beat and maintained its Underperform rating and $8 price objective. BMO Capital Markets maintained its Market Perform rating but raised its target to $12 from $10.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was downgraded to Sector Perform with a $58 price target (versus a $54.25 close) at Scotia Howard Weil. More importantly, the stock was removed from its Focus List.

Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $108 price target (versus a $95.67 close) at Argus.

DexCom Inc. (NASDAQ: DXCM) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $70 from $58 at Jefferies.

24/7 Wall St.
9 Oil and Gas Stocks Analysts Want Their Clients to Own for 2018

Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch, with a new $30 price objective that implies an upside of 38% if the call proves true. The firm thinks it is poised to outperform as greater-than-expected SNI synergies and deleveraging potential come into focus.

General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) was reiterated as Neutral and the price target was raised to $60 from $53 at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting that its stabilization was less costly than had been feared in the United States. Merrill Lynch maintained its Neutral rating and $60 price objective. General Mills shares closed up almost 2% at $58.76 on Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $135 price objective at Buckingham Research.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) saw numerous price target hikes on Wednesday after solid earnings and guidance. also Argus has joined in on the target hikes, reiterating its Buy rating and raising its target price to $55 from $45. Micron shares closed up 4% at $45.75 on Wednesday.

New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: NYCB) was started as Sector Perform and assigned a $13 price target (versus a $13.26 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $20 from $16 at Wedbush. Regions previously closed at $17.25. The firm sees several levers that should drive above-average earnings growth over the next two years: balance sheet and capital optimization; pulling forward expenses saves earmarked for 2019 into 2018; being well positioned for rising rates; and lower deposit issues than peers.

Regis Corp. (NYSE: RGS) was started with a Sector Weight rating KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Spirit Airlines Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVE) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. The stock closed up 0.6% at $44.49 on Wednesday and shares were indicated up 3.4% at $45.99 on Thursday morning.

SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) was downgraded to Neutral at Wedbush in a valuation call. The firm actually raised its price target to $71 from $63 to reflect the increase to its higher earnings estimates from a lower tax rate. SunTrust closed previously at $65.45.

Texas Capital Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $108 from $87 (versus a $91.10 close) at Wedbush. The firm sees it having several drivers for higher earnings: its highly asset sensitive balance sheet; rising rates; lower corporate tax rates; and above-average loan growth.

Valley National Bancorp (NYSE: VLY) was started as Outperform and assigned a $14 price target (versus an $11.43 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $75 price target at Buckingham Research.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZBH) was reiterated as Buy with a $140 price target (versus a $121.18 close) at Argus.

Credit Suisse’s U.S. equity strategy team raised its 2018 targets on the S&P 500 and EPS to 3,000 based on $155 in EPS from a prior level of 2,875 and $139 in EPS.

Follow @Jonogg on Twitter to receive the daily analyst calls and other market research calls directly on your feed.

Wednesday’s top analyst calls included Alcoa, Extreme Networks, Gilead Sciences, MGIC, Micron, Noble Energy, Twitter, U.S. Steel, Wendy’s and many more.