Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alibaba, CarMax, Nike, RadWare, Under Armour and Many More

June 25, 2018 by Lee Jackson

The futures traded lower on Monday morning, as the only big headline item other than the omnipresent trade and tariff issues was seemingly decided last Friday when OPEC and Russia agreed to raise production by 600,000 to 800,000 barrels. The oil markets and the energy sector took that as a relative positive as it was less than many thought, and going into the busy summer driving season, prices should stay above the $65 level.

Many investors are now reconsidering what the nine-year bull market may bring for the rest of 2018 and beyond. It has become very clear that the multiyear trend of buying every pullback 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 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 have 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 Monday, June 25, 2018.

Alarm.com Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: ALRM) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James. The shares have traded between $33.39 and $49.49 over the past 52 weeks. The Wall Street consensus price target is posted at $49. The stock closed Friday at $37.60.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) was started with a Buy rating and a $275 price target at Argus. The consensus price target is $243.09, and the shares ended trading last Friday at $202.01.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $57.05 to $81.57, and the consensus price target is set at $76.20. With the shares closing on Friday at $80.19, up almost 13% on the day, this could be a valuation call.

New Relic Inc. (NYSE: NEWR) was started with a Buy rating and a $125 price objective at Deutsche Bank. That compares to the consensus price target of $100.07. The stock closed Friday at $103.86 a share.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was started with a Neutral rating and a $78 price target at Goldman Sachs. The consensus price target for the athletic retailing giant is $74.53. The stock closed at $73.43 on Friday.

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week trading range is $29.59 to $47.32, and the consensus price target is $36.17. The shares closed Friday at $34.96.

Omega Health Investors Inc. (NYSE: OHI) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo. Over the past year, the stock has traded in a range of $24.90 to $34.84. The consensus price target is posted at $29.19, and the stock ended trading Friday at $31.87.

RadWare Ltd. (NASDAQ: RDWR) saw its target price raised to $32 from $26 at Needham. That compares with the consensus target of $26.67. The analyst cites the company as a growth SaaS security company gaining share across the board and in particular in the cloud. The stock closed trading last Friday at $25.05.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) was started with a Neutral rating and a $22 price target at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target is $16.42, and the stock closed Friday’s trading at $22.38 a share.

Veeva Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VEEV) was started with a Buy rating and a $100 price target at SunTrust. That compares with a consensus target of $80.08. The shares closed on Friday at $82.84.

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

Allegheny Technology Inc. (NYSE: ATI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Longbow. The 52-week trading range is $16.22 to $30.25, and the consensus price target is $32.90. The stock closed most recently at $27.31.

Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) was resumed in coverage at Merrill Lynch with a Buy rating and a massive $420 price objective. The consensus price target is at $333.57, and shares closed Friday at $353.27.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB) was started with a Buy rating and a $115 price target at Merrill Lynch. That compares to the consensus target of $128.47. The stock ended trading on Friday at $93.46.

Limoneira Co. (NASDAQ: LMNR) was started with an Overweight rating and a $30 price target at Stephens. That compares with the consensus target of $29.67. The shares ended trading on Friday at $25.81.

Nutrein Inc. (NYSE: NTR) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James. The 52-week trading range is $40.41 to $56.18, and the consensus price target is $58.28. The stock closed Friday at $53.69.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) was started with a Sell rating and a $150 price target at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target is set at $175, and the stock ended last week at $152.08 per share.

Tapestry Inc. (NYSE: TPR) was started with a Buy rating and a $56 price objective at Goldman Sachs. The firm also included the stock on its prestigious Conviction Buy List. The consensus price target for the stock was last seen at $56.13. The shares closed last Friday at $47.27.

V.F. Corp. (NYSE: VFC) was started with a Buy rating at Goldman Sachs, and the firm has a price target of $96. The consensus target price is $84.58. The stock ended trading last Friday at $81.58.

In case you missed it, last Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Dollar General, KLA-Tencor, Micron Technology, Nike, Red Hat and more.

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