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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AT&T, CA, Chipotle, Cisco, Cleveland-Cliffs, Dish, HP, Qualcomm, Snap and More

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After a huge sell-off on Monday, the stock market managed to recapture a good portion of its gains on Tuesday. Now shares have traded all over on Wednesday, with some stocks up and some lower. Investors are digesting how certain volatility trades exacerbated the market’s losses this week. They also are keeping in mind that the bull market is almost nine years old, many of the corporate fundamentals are still improving, and the trend that seems to keep working is to buy the pullbacks. Now the investing public has to decide how it wants to be positioned for the rest of 2018 and beyond after feeling the first sense of panic in about two years.

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

Additional color and commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports. 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 Wednesday, February 7, 2018.

AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan. Its shares closed down 4.7% at $67.30 on Tuesday, in a 52-week trading range of $58.00 to $75.95.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was reiterated as Buy with a $48 price target (versus a $36.83 prior close) at Argus. The independent research firm sees strategic acquisitions and the lower corporate tax rate boosting after-tax earnings, both helping shareholders.

CA Inc. (NASDAQ: CA) was reiterated as Buy with a $40 target price (versus a $33.70 close) at Argus. The independent research firm noted that CA is seeing a better trend in its bookings.

Callaway Golf Co. (NYSE: ELY) was raised to Neutral from Sell with a $13.50 target price (versus a $14.59 close) at Compass Point.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (NYSE: CNQ) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $49 price target (versus a $52.86 close) at Citigroup. Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating on Schwab.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was last seen down 8% at $280.00 after earnings and Tuesday’s closing bell, but its shares had been up 1.3% at $304.33 ahead of the report. Wedbush Securities maintained its Neutral rating and $285 price target. Stifel downgraded Chipotle to Sell from Hold with a $250 price target.

Church & Dwight Co. (NYSE: CHD) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was started as Buy and assigned a $48 price target (versus a $40.17 close) at Goldman Sachs. With a 3.6% gain to $40.17 on Tuesday, Cisco has a 52-week range of $30.36 to $42.98, and it had a consensus analyst target price of $41.23.

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Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) was raised to Outperform from Underperform, a two-notch upgrade, at Credit Suisse, and the firm raised its price target to $9 from $5. Higher core USIO free cash flows and a valuation uplift from tax reform to its HBI project will add value ahead. Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs were up 4.8% at $6.76 on Tuesday and were indicated up 3.7% more at $7.00 on Wednesday.

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $54 price target (versus a $43.32 close) at Citigroup.

Hercules Capital Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $13.75 price target (versus a $12.55 close) at Wedbush. The firm believes that sell-off in Hercules shares seen since November’s peak has created an attractive entry point and the potential for more upside ahead. The stock also comes with a dividend yield of almost 10%.

Horizon Global Corp. (NYSE: HZN) was raised in a two-notch upgrade to Buy from Underperform at Merrill Lynch, and the firm raised its price objective to $10.00 (versus a $7.95 close). After dropping 60% from its peak a year ago and after making an acquisition, the firm feels Horizon is a stock that has been washed out and now looks attractive.

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) was started as Neutral with a $25 price target (versus a $21.44 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $62 from $53 (versus a $56.80 close) at Argus. The firm noted that lower earnings were ahead of estimates and that the backlog of advisory deals remains healthy.

Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $242 price target (versus a $184.52 close) at Deutsche Bank.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was reiterated as Buy with a $75 price target at Argus. The firm sees the company starting to execute amid the unwanted Broadcom bid and during its war with Apple.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) may have seen shares surge after earnings, but not everyone is buying into the great recovery story. Wedbush maintained its Neutral rating and $12.50 price target, saying it is unconvinced that Snap can really compete in social media, even while also admitting that better sales dynamics and a return of user growth were seen. Snap was reiterated as Outperform at Credit Suisse, and the firm raised its target to $20 from $18. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey raised it to Hold from Sell with a $15 price target. Susquehanna downgraded Snap to Negative from Neutral. Snap shares were up 1.5% at $14.06 on Tuesday ahead of earnings, but its stock was up almost 20% at $16.80 in Wednesday’s early indications.

Tempur Sealy International Inc. (NYSE: TPX) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and assigned a $65 price target (versus a $56.54 close) at Wedbush. While the report warns of secular headwinds for traditional mattress manufacturers and retailers, struggles at Mattress Firm bring an opportunity to capture significant market share in the retail mattress market.

Credit Suisse’s U.S. Equity Strategy team issued an alert on the recent market selling. The firm sees that the vast majority of companies have improving fundamentals despite the big sell-off in stocks recently. Lower tax burdens and a better economic backdrop are offering investors a chance to selectively upgrade their portfolios.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Weatherford and many more.

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