Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AK Steel, Arconic, Facebook, Inogen, Roku, Sprint, SteadyMed and More

Investing

Published: May 1, 2018 8:25 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:15 am

Stocks closed lower on Monday as profit-taking prevailed over positive earnings and good economic news, and the market indices were looking for direction on Tuesday. Investors have noticed that selling pressure around profit-taking and volatility fears have overcome the dominance of the “buy the sell-offs” mentality. The bull market is also over nine years old and has run into a tired spell. Now investors are wondering how to position their assets and investments for the rest of 2018 and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy and some 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 Tuesday, May 1, 2018.

AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) was down 3.4% at $4.59 on Monday, but Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating while lowering its target price to $6.00 from $6.50. The firm was disappointed by the company’s challenges in monetizing what is the best domestic steel market in over a decade, but it sees improving automotive margins and spot prices at 10-year highs. Cowen maintained a Market Perform rating on AK Steel and lowered its target to $4.50 from $5.00. The 52-week trading range is $4.00 to $7.04.

Arconic Inc. (NYSE: ARNC) was down just over 20% at $17.81 after earnings on Monday. Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating with a note that the sell-off was overdone as earnings and margins are likely at a trough, although the firm did lower its price target on the shares to $28 from $33. The 52-week trading range is $17.60 to $31.17, and the consensus analyst price target is $29.22.

Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

British American Tobacco PLC (NYSE: BTI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

CarGurus Inc. (NASDAQ: CARG) was raised to Buy from Neutral at D.A. Davidson.

Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

DCT Industrial Trust Inc. (NYSE: DCT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was added to the Best Ideas List at Wedbush Securities, with the firm noting that the company will weather the controversy surrounding its Cambridge Analytica data breach. The firm also believes that Facebook should continue to invest in various initiatives that will generate substantial EBITDA growth for years to come.

Financial Engines Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

IDEX Corp. (NYSE: IEX) was maintained as Neutral but the fair value was raised to $140 from $139 (versus a $133.66 prior close) at Janney. The call was after IDEX exceeded expectations and guidance on earnings, but the firm is concerned about valuations.