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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: American Tower, AutoNation, Biogen, CarMax, Chipotle, eBay, PG&E, Walgreens, Zions and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: July 10, 2018 8:55 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 9:15 pm

Stocks were indicated higher on Tuesday, although on a much more muted tune than the 320-point Dow Jones industrials gain and the 24-point gain on the S&P 500 seen on Monday. The prior trend of buying every dip and sell-off has been less reliable during most of 2018 than in prior years. Many investors now are considering how they want their investments positioned ahead of the midterm elections and also for the longer term into 2019 and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new investing and trading ideas. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional color and commentary have 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, July 10, 2018.

American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was cut to $150 from $160 at JPMorgan. The shares closed down 2.5% at $142.18 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $130.37 to $155.28 and with a consensus target price of $158.68.

Apptio Inc. (NASDAQ: APTI) was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: ABG) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight and the price target was raised to $71 from $63 at Morgan Stanley.

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $44 from $57 at Morgan Stanley.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) shares may have risen handily after positive Alzheimer’s delay news on its drug, but Robert W. Baird downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform with a $323 price target. Shares closed down 1% at $354.00 on Monday and were indicated down 1.4% at $349.00 on Tuesday. Biogen was trading at $298.81 last week before the positive Alzheimer’s drug news broke.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) was raised to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Casa Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CASA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. The firm said the recent selling in the shares puts it at a discount when it has a strong customer base and has market expansion. The stock closed down 2.5% at $16.38 on Monday, and the $13 IPO price compares with a high of $34.21.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral but the price target was raised to $330 from $300 at Mizuho. This is after the shares closed at $463.89.

Contravir Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRV) was raised to Buy from Hold at Maxim Group.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $40 from $48 at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. It closed up 1.4% at $37.91 on Monday but was indicated down 1.1% at $37.49 in Tuesday’s premarket. The consensus target price is $48.50, and the 52-week range is $33.95 to $46.99.

Helen of Troy Ltd. (NASDAQ: HELE) was up 12.6% at $114.85 on Monday after strong earnings. Merrill Lynch raised its rating to Buy from Neutral and put its price objective at $127.

Imperva Inc. (NASDAQ: IMPV) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Old National Bancorp (NYSE: ONB) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

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PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) was started as Equal Weight and assigned a $53 target price at Barclays. Shares closed up 0.1% at $45.09 on Friday, and the 52-week range is $37.30 to $71.57. The consensus target price is $48.50.

Regulus Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and its price target was slashed to $3 from $1 (versus a $0.36 prior close) at Wedbush Securities.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $103 price target (versus a $90.05 close) at Jefferies.

Renasant Corp. (NASDAQ: RNST) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Sonic Automotive Inc. (NYSE: SAH) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $19 from $25 at Morgan Stanley.

U.S. Gold Corp. (NASDAQ: USAU) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $3 price target (versus a $1.32 close) at H.C. Wainwright. This is a mere $23 million company that is still in its infancy when it comes to revenues.

USD Partners L.P. (NYSE: USDP) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target (fair value) was raised to $13 from $12 (versus a $10.65 close) at Janney. This master limited partnership also has a 13% current yield-equivalent, where the firm sees less contract risk and sees favorable Canada-U.S. oil trends for it.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI. The firm sees only modest profit growth ahead unless the dollar weakens and operating income could be pressured. Walgreens closed up 0.7% at $63.73 on Monday, and its shares were indicated down 0.7% at $63.28 on Tuesday’s early trading indications. The 52-week range is $59.07 to $83.89, and the stock remains under pressure since Amazon’s acquisition of PillPack put brick-and-mortar’s retail nemesis in the pharmacy business, of sorts.

Western Alliance Bancorp. (NYSE: WAL) was started as Outperform and assigned a $67 price target (versus a $57.69 close) at Wedbush. The firm noted that its niche businesses are driving high risk-adjusted returns where fewer banks are competing in its areas of expertise.

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William Lyon Homes (NYSE: WLH) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $35 from $32 (versus a $23.71 close) at Wedbush. The firm said it appears undervalued and raised the price target as it shifts its views to expected 2019 results.

Wright Medical Group N.V. (NASDAQ: WMGI) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform but the price target was raised to $28 from $25 at BMO Capital Markets. The stock closed at $25.95 on Monday and has a 52-week range of $19.01 to $29.89.

Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL) was started as Overweight and assigned a $53 price target at Barclays.

Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.

Credit Suisse has previewed upside for the earnings season about to kick off. The firm sees second-quarter earnings likely rising 23% to 24% and revenues likely to rise 8.2%. Earnings per share are generally expected to come in 3% to 4% higher than expectations. Taxes are expected to add 7% to 8%, and ex-tax benefit earnings per share should rise by 16% to 17%. Cyclicals are expected to deliver the best results. Excluding tax benefits, sectors such as technology, financials, energy, materials and internet retail are expected to provide double-digit earnings per share growth. Sectors such as telecom, staples and discretionary ex-internet retail are expected by the firm to deliver negative earnings per share growth.

Monday’s top analyst calls included Baidu, Capital One, Delphi Technologies, Dunkin’ Brands, FireEye, Walgreens Boots Alliance and many more.