Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: CBS, Disney, Regions Financial, Salesforce, T-Mobile and Many More

June 28, 2018 by Lee Jackson

The futures traded down again Thursday morning, and it appears that the back and forth trading on Wednesday wore down investors. Once again, the trade and tariff issues were cited as the main reason. Oil jumped again, sparked by a big drop in crude inventories, closing up over 2.5%. With summer vacations in full swing and Americans hitting the road in record numbers to celebrate the fourth of July, you can bet there may be some added pain at the pump.

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 Thursday, June 28, 2018.

Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ATSG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Stifel. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $19.17 to $27.67. The Wall Street consensus price target is $27.43. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $21.46.

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) was started with an Outperform rating and a $71 price target at Imperial Capital. That compares with a consensus target of $66.04. The stock ended Wednesday at $55.71 a share.

Brown-Forman Inc. (NYSE: BF-A) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $28.68 to $57.70, and the consensus price target was not available. The shares closed Wednesday at $48.32.

Flexion Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FLXN) was started with a Buy rating and a $39 price target at Benchmark. That compares with the consensus price target of $38.60. The shares closed Wednesday at $24.92, down over 6% on the day.

Limoneira Co. (NASDAQ: LMNR) was started with a Buy rating and a $30 price target at Stifel. The consensus target is $29.75. The analysts note the company is uniquely positioned to generate strong growth from its existing pipeline of newly planted acres and expanded pack house that will coincide with a winding-down of capital spending to generate strong free cash flows. The stock closed Wednesday at $24.22, down over 4% on the day.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Baird. Shares of the bank have traded between $13.03 and $20.21 over the past year. The consensus price target is set at $20.57, and the stock closed Wednesday at $17.86.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) saw its target price raised to $152 from $147 at BMO Capital Markets, and the firm installed the company as a Top Pick. The consensus price target is $148.90. The shares ended trading on Wednesday at $133.22.

T-Mobile US. Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. The wireless carrier is still in the middle of an attempted merger with Sprint and has traded in a 52-week range of $54.60 to $66.52. The consensus price objective is $76.74, and the stock ended trading on Wednesday at $59.34.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was started with an In-Line rating and a price target of $108 at Imperial Capital. That compares with the consensus target of $117.04. The analysts noted that while the company’s recent introduction of ESPN+ finally put the company in the OTT (over-the-top) game, the lack of any NBA basketball or NFL football on the platform simply does not allow it to promote ESPN+ as a true catalyst. The shares closed Wednesday at $103.96.

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

ANGI Homeservices Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) was started with a Neutral rating at Guggenheim. The 52-week trading range is $10.24 to $16.61. The consensus price target is $16.50, and the stock closed Wednesday at $14.93.

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens. The 52-week trading range is $15.60 to $21.90, and the consensus price target is $26. The stock ended trading on Wednesday at $19.30.

Madison Square Garden Co. (NYSE: MSG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $205.22 to $284.19, and the consensus price target is $263.91. The stock closed Wednesday at $266.23, but the shares traded up almost 10% in Thursday’s premarket on news that the company may be split between sports and entertainment.

Progress Software Corp. (NASDAQ: PRGS) was lifted to Hold from Sell at Benchmark. The 52-week trading range is $30.12 and $53.60, and the consensus price target is $38.50. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $34.80.

Spark Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCE) was started with a Neutral rating and a $74 price target at B. Riley FBR. That compares with a consensus target of $79.45. The shares closed Wednesday at $82.87, down almost 6% on the day.

TransEnterix Inc. (NASDAQ: TRXC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG Research. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $0.60 to $6.04. The consensus price target is $4.13, and the shares closed Wednesday at $5.85.

Twilio Inc. (NASDAQ: TWLO) was raised to Buy from Hold at Argus. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $23.25 to $42.34, and the consensus price target is set at $55.55. The stock ended Wednesday at $54.30, down over 5%.

In case you missed it, Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AT&T, Abbott Labs, Honeywell, Tiffany, Zimmer-Biomet and many more.

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