Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Andeavor, Discovery, Estee Lauder, Esperion Therapeutics, Hologic, Nvidia, Yum Brands and More

Lee Jackson

Published: May 3, 2018 9:00 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:07 am

The futures are once again looking lower this Thursday morning as Wall Street grapples with trade and tariff issues. Despite outstanding earnings reports for the first quarter, it seems as though every move higher in the market is met with renewed selling. While the Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates on Wednesday, it looks like a lock the gradual increases will continue. It has become clear that the multiyear trend of buying pullbacks is now more vulnerable to sellers, volatility and each major news headline. Many investors are finding it harder to decide how they want their assets positioned for the longer term.

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, May 3, 2018.

Andeavor (NYSE: ANDV) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies. The company recently was purchased by Marathon Petroleum in a massive $23.3 billion deal. Andeavor’s 52-week trading range is $78.35 to $144.08. The Wall Street consensus price target for the shares is $135.17. The stock closed above that level on Wednesday at $138.58.

Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Baird with a $61 price target. The analysts at Canaccord Genuity also raised the stock to Buy from Neutral, and they have a $60 price target. That compares with the consensus target of $57.70. The 52-week trading range is $44.75 to $61.62. Both upgrades come on the back of a solid earnings report. The shares closed Wednesday at $49.18.

Clearwater Paper Corp. (NYSE: CLW) was raised to Outperform from Perform at RBC with a $30 price target. That compares with the consensus target of $46.75. The 52-week trading range is $22.51 to $50.60. The stock closed Wednesday at $23.

Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at JPMorgan, which also has a $29 price target. The Wall Street consensus target is $26.77. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $15.99 to $29.72. The shares closed Wednesday at $23.58.

EnLink Midstream LLC (NYSE: ENLC) was raised to Outperform from Perform at RBC, which has its price target set at $22. The consensus target price is $17.50. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $13.80 to $20. The stock closed Wednesday at $15.20.

Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPR) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at JPMorgan, which has a price objective of $41. That compares with the consensus target of $100.54. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $30.95 to $82.68. The shares were absolutely crushed on Wednesday as Phase 3 results for one of the company’s key drugs showed safety results issues. The shares closed at $45.75, down a stunning 35% on the day.

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Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies with a $145 price target. That compares with the consensus target of $154.54. The 52-week trading range is $90.77 to $153.88. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $132.59.

Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity, with a $39 price target. The consensus price target is $47.41, and the 52-week trading range is $35.33 to $46.80. The stock ended trading on Wednesday at $39.94.

Laredo Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: LPI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Baird, with at $10 price target. The 52-week trading range is $7.41 to $13.46. The consensus price target is set at $11.80. The shares closed Wednesday at $10.92.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, which has a $280 price objective. That compares with the consensus target of $149.58. The 52-week trading range for the red-hot semiconductor company is $102.31 to $254.50. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $226.31.

NVent Electric PLC (NASDAQ: NVT) was rated at New Market Perform at Oppenheimer. The 52-week trading range is $22.05 to $24.00. There are no consensus price targets as this was a new deal that recently came to market. The shares closed Wednesday at $22.76.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Jefferies after the huge purchase of Andeavor. The 52-week trading range is $49.30 to $83.27. The consensus price target is posted at $86.56. The shares closed Wednesday at $75.64. Clearly, the Jefferies team likes both sides of this deal.

Pentair PLC (NYSE: PNR) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC with a $49 price target. That compares with the posted consensus target of $70.85. The 52-week trading range for the shares is $39.71 to $50.26. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $45.42.

TC Pipelines L.P. (NYSE: TCP) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC. The analysts have a $32 price target, and the consensus target price is $41.75. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $24.71 to $61.74. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $25.14.

Terraform Power Inc. (NASDAQ: TERP) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at JPMorgan, and they have a $13 price target. The consensus price objective is set at $13.08. The 52-week trading range is $10.02 to $14.20. The stock ended trading on Wednesday at $10.89.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Baird, with a $94 price target. The consensus target is set at $86. The 52-week trading range is $67.91 to $88.07. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $80.20.

In case you missed it, here are Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades. They included Alcoa, Apple, Crocs, NuVasive, Texas Roadhouse, Under Armor and more.