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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: BofA, Broadcom, Dominion, Netflix, Pegasystems, 21st Century Fox, Thor, Western Digital and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: March 16, 2018 9:00 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:22 am

Stocks have been trading mixed for the better part of two weeks now, and the major indices were looking for direction on Friday. The bull market is now over nine years old, and investors still are considering how they want to be positioned for the rest of 2018 and beyond. One trend that has kept working is for investors to buy all the big pullbacks.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some analyst 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 the daily analyst reports. The consensus analyst price targets 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 Friday, March 16, 2018.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $36 from $35 at Credit Suisse, with the firm raising earnings estimates in 2018 and 2019. Bank of America has a 52-week trading range of $22.07 to $33.05, and it has a consensus analyst target price of $34.62.

Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was up 2.75% at $267.76 ahead of earnings and was last seen down 1.6% at $263.50 afterward. JPMorgan started coverage as Overweight with a $340 price target, and Wells Fargo started coverage as Market Perform. Broadcom has a 52-week range of $208.44 to $285.68.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP) was started with an Outperform rating at CIBC. Shares closed at $40.50 and have a 52-week range of $36.51 to $46.88.

Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE: D) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, and UBS downgraded it to Neutral from Buy. The shares closed down 3.1% at $71.24 on Thursday and were indicated down 0.7% at $70.75 on Friday.

Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and the $9 fair value estimate was maintained as Janney. The firm fears an expected global retaliation against tariffs with respect to U.S. exports of soybeans, corn, wheat and other agricultural products.

Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) was started with a Neutral rating and assigned a $4.80 price target (versus a $4.76 prior close) at Barclays. Intelsat has a 52-week range of $2.44 to $7.47 and a consensus price target of $3.44.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $325 price target at Loop Capital. Netflix has a 52-week range of $138.66 to $333.98 and a consensus price target of $280.15.

NextEra Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: NEP) was raised to Buy from Underperform with a $43 price objective (versus a $39.12 close) at Merrill Lynch, with the firm noting that it has a strong pipeline through 2022.

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Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA) was reiterated as Outperform with a $73 price target (versus a $61.85 close) at Wedbush Securities. The firm says that Pegasystems is winning new customers and large contracts over major CRM vendors, and that it is really the only CRM major with capabilities in robotic automation.

Quality Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: QTS) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $45 price target (versus a $37.09 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Tenaris S.A. (NYSE: TS) was raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS. The stock closed down 1.4% at $35.01 on Thursday but was indicated up 1.7% at $35.61 on Friday. The 52-week range is $25.91 to $37.48, and the consensus price target is $35.63.

Thor Industries Inc. (NYSE: THO) was raised to Buy from Hold at Argus, with the independent research firm saying that the pullback has provided a favorable entry point for new investors. Thor closed down 1.7% at $120.74 on Thursday and was indicated up 1.9% at $123.10 on Friday morning, in a 52-week range of $87.96 to $161.48 and with a consensus target price of $164.67.

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (NASDAQ: FOXA) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $43 price target (versus a $37.15 close) at Loop Capital. The 52-week range is $24.81 to $39.14, and the consensus price target is $40.91.

WellCare Health Plans (NYSE: WCG) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price objective was raised to $240 from $236 (versus a $193.57 close) at Merrill Lynch. WellCare has a 52-week range of $136.23 to $221.75 and a consensus price target of $228.53.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $135 from $95 (versus a $102.23 close) at Robert W. Baird. Western Digital has a 52-week range of $71.38 to $104.60 and a consensus price target of $113.89.

Winnebago Industries Inc. (NYSE: WGO) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $54 price target (versus a $42.95 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. It has a 52-week range of $24.15 to $58.65, and the consensus price target is $57.86.

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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades were in shares of AON, Broadcom, Expedia, Exxon Mobil, Match, Mylan, Ocean Rig UDW, Signet, Transocean and many more.