Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Booking Holdings, Borg Warner, Delphi, Pandora, Ralph Lauren, Southwest Airlines and More

Lee Jackson

Published: March 22, 2018 9:00 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:11 am

The futures looked decidedly lower Thursday morning as the market digested the newest increase in the federal funds rate, which was announced Wednesday afternoon. While many feel that the Federal Reserve will only raise two more times this year, some may be focusing on Fed Chair Powell’s comment that some asset price are elevated. The one trend that has dominated this bull market is that investors keep finding new reasons to buy stocks after every single sell-off. Those same investors are looking for new investment and trading ideas to generate gains and income.

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

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

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Thursday, March 22, 2018.

American Axle Inc. (NYSE: AXL) was raised to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $13.38 to $20.27. The Wall Street consensus price target is set at $19.64. The stock closed Wednesday at $19.64.

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) was started with a Buy rating at Mizuho. The company that used to be known as Priceline.com has traded in a 52-week range of $1,733 to $2,228.99. The consensus price target for the travel giant is $2,245.57. The shares closed Wednesday a $2,144.98.

BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA) was raised to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range is $37.54 to $58.22, and the consensus price target is $56.65. Shares closed Wednesday at $51.08.

Delphi Technologies PLC (NYSE: DLPH) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range is $38 to $104.09. The consensus target price is $60.38. The stock closed Wednesday at $48.64.

Jeld-Wen Holding Inc. (NYSE: JELD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $27.61 to $42.27. The consensus price objective is set at $38.08, and analysts have remained cautious on the stock since a bad earnings report last month. The shares closed trading on Wednesday at $33.29.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) was raised to Strong Buy from Market Perform at Raymond James. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $4.09 to $12.13. The posted consensus price target is $6.39. The shares ended Wednesday at $4.90 but were trading up over 6% in Thursday’s premarket. The company announced the purchase of AdsWizz for $145 million, and that may be the cause for the upgrade.

Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen. The 52-week trading range for the clothing and fragrance giant is $66.06 to $119.33. The consensus price objective is $111.50. The stock closed Wednesday at $109.47 a share.

Southwest Airlines Inc. (NYSE: LUV) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Buckingham Research. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $49.76 to $66.99. The consensus price target is $74.21. The shares closed Wednesday at $57.78, down almost 5% on the day.

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TrueCar Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE) received some mixed coverage as the Benchmark Company started the shares with a Buy rating, while JPMorgan downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underweight. The 52-week trading range is $9.63 to $21.75. The consensus price target is posted at $15.11. The stock closed Wednesday at $9.93.

Wide Open West Inc. (NYSE: WOW) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets. The 52-week trading range is $7.03 to $18.83. The consensus price target is $12.50. The company was recently sued by Sprint over voice over packet patents. The stock closed Wednesday at $7.69.

Other key analysts upgrades and downgrades were seen in the following:

Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair. The 52-week trading range is $141.68 to $209.18. The consensus price target is $177.42, and shares closed trading on Wednesday at $147.04.

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACGL) is raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette. The 52-week range is $83.86 to $102.60, and the consensus price target is $102.64. The shares closed Wednesday at $85.82.

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Archrock Inc. (NYSE: AROC) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. The 52-week trading range is $8.30 to $13.65. The consensus price objective is $13.10. The stock closed Wednesday at $9.05.

Arris International PLC (NASDAQ: ARRS) was resumed with an Equal Weight rating at Barclays. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $22.60 to $30.38. The consensus price target is $34.57. The stock ended trading on Wednesday at $27.36.

Cision Inc. (NASDAQ: CISN) was resumed with a Buy rating and a $20 price target at Deutsche Bank. That compares with the consensus target of $17.50. The 52-week trading range is $10 to $13.68. The shares closed Wednesday at $11.86, after completing a 5,750,000 share secondary offering that priced at $10.75.

ITT Inc. (NYSE: ITT) was started with a Buy rating at D.A. Davidson. Its 52-week trading range is $36.93 to $57.62. The consensus price target is $58.08, and the stock closed on Wednesday at $52.43.

Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. The 52 week-trading range is $132.01 to $202.42. The consensus price target is $201.69. The stock ended trading on Wednesday at $192.60.

Visteon Inc. (NASDAQ: VC) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $91.20 to $140.64. The consensus price objective is $139.50. The shares ended trading on Wednesday at $120.77.

In case you missed it, here are Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades. They included Allied Materials, Celgene, Children’s Place, Kinder Morgan, Match, Myriad Genetics, Nordstrom, Oracle and more.