Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Chipotle, Etsy, Home Depot, PagSeguro, Snap, Walmart, Wingstop and More
February 20, 2018 9:00 am
Last Updated: January 12, 2020 3:15 am
Stocks have reminded us that the market can go back down and have volatility again, but there is also the six-year-old trend of buying the dips as the top rewarding strategy. The bull market is now just about two weeks shy of being nine years old. Now investors still have to decide how they want to be positioned for 2018 and beyond.
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Stocks were indicated lower on Tuesday after a long weekend, but the futures had been lower in the wee hours of Tuesday’s futures session. These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Tuesday, February 20, 2018.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was maintained as Neutral at Credit Suisse, but the target price was raised to $290 from $275. The firm is assessing what’s priced in after the rally.
Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $142 from $138 at KLR Group.
Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $26 from $20 (versus a $20.96 prior close) at D.A. Davidson.
Gates Industrial Corp. PLC (NYSE: GTES) was started as Outperform with a $21 price target (versus an $18.29 close) at Credit Suisse. RBC Capital Markets started the stock as Outperform with $22 price target. KeyBanc Capital Markets started it with an Overweight rating and assigned a $22 price target.
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) was reiterated as Buy and with a $219 price objective at Merrill Lynch in its flash note after earnings, noting that it ended its year on a very strong note and noting that guidance was likely conservative. Home Depot was indicated up almost 2% at $190.60 on Tuesday morning, in a 52-week range of $143.25 to $207.71 and with a consensus analyst target price of $211.13.
IMAX Corp. (NYSE: IMAX) was reiterated as Outperform with a $30 price target (versus a $22.60 close) at Wedbush Securities. The pre-earnings call signaled that Wedbush expects fourth-quarter earnings ahead of consensus estimates on better margins.
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $26 price target (versus a $25.33 close) at Pivotal Research.
Menlo Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MNLO) was started as Outperform with a $44 price target (versus a $34.88 close) at JMP Securities. Piper Jaffray started it with an Overweight rating and assigned a $48 price target.
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) was maintained as Buy with a $354 price target (versus a $356.00 close), but it was removed from the prized Conviction Buy list.
PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE: PAGS) has seen its quiet period end, and after closing up 4.4% at $30.36 on Friday, its shares were indicated up 1% at$30.67 on Tuesday. Merrill Lynch started it with a Buy rating and assigned a $34 price objective. Deutsche Bank started it as Buy with a $38 price target, while UBS started it as Buy with a $36 price target.
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