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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AECOM, CyberArk, Dillard's, Hasbro, Mattel, Newell, Papa John's, Shopify, Snap, Tesla and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: August 8, 2018 9:10 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 7:44 pm

Stocks were indicated to open marginally lower on Wednesday after China matched tariffs in the ongoing trade war. Investors have seen a strong earnings season, with more than 70% of the companies exceeding expectations and 80% of the S&P 500 having reported. Still, the volatility in 2018 has created less rewarding trades by buying the dips than had been so reliable in prior years. Many investors also are trying to decide how they want their investments positioned ahead of the midterm elections and with international trade concerns.

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 analyst reports cover stocks to buy and some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. 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 Wednesday, August 8, 2018.

AECOM (NYSE: ACM) was maintained as Buy but the price target was cut to $42 from $45 (versus a $33.15 prior close) at Citigroup.

Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $44 price target (versus a $35.50 close) at Stephens.

Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (NASDAQ: BECN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the target price was cut to $44 from $51 at Citigroup. Wedbush maintained its Outperform rating but cut its price target to $50 from $65. Wells Fargo downgraded it to Underperform from Market Perform.

CarGurus Inc. (NASDAQ: CARG) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $55 price target (versus a $45.59 prior close) at JMP Securities.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was maintained as Buy and the price target was lowered to $69 from $79 at Citigroup.

CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR) shares were down 2.3% at $61.77 ahead of earnings but were up 11% at $68.65 afterward. JPMorgan raised it to Overweight from Neutral with an $85 target price (versus a $61.77 close).

Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) was raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank.

Dentsply Sirona Inc. (NASDAQ: XRAY) was down over 18% at $39.40 on Tuesday (to a five-year low) after lower guidance. Morgan Stanley downgraded it to Equal Weight from Overweight and cut its target price to $40 from $54. Stephens lowered it to Equal Weight from Overweight, and Stifel maintained its Buy rating but cut its target to $46 from $57.

Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) was reiterated as Outperform rating with a $95 price target (versus an $81.79 close), and was added to the Best Ideas List, at Wedbush. The firm sees a potential for significant upside to second-quarter consensus gross margin of 31.1% and also sees meaningful improvement in engagement with the consumer.

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DXC Technology Co. (NYSE: DXC) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $111 from $109 (versus an $87.08 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Floor & Decor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: FND) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price is $48 (versus a $37.97 close) at Loop Capital.

Harley Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $53 from $50 at Citigroup.

Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) was reiterated as Buy and the target was raised to $116 from $101 at Citigroup.

Hostess Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: TWNK) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. RBC Capital Markets downgraded it to Sector Perform from Outperform. Hostess Brands has a 52-week trading range of $11.00 to $15.40 and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $250 target price (versus a $141.68 close) at Guggenheim. Intuit has a 52-week range of $133.60 to $219.46 and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: JAZZ) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $205 from $180 at Stifel. The 52-week range is $128.58 to $184.00, and the consensus analyst target is $190.61.

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE: KMT) was raised to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch. BMO Capital Markets maintained it as Market Perform and raised the price target to $46 from $42. The 52-week range is $32.93 to $52.52, and the consensus price target is $44.90.

Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) was reiterated as Buy but the price target was lowered to $19 from $21 at Citigroup. The 52-week range is $12.21 to $19.21. The consensus price target is $15.71.

MGM Growth Properties LLC (NYSE: MGP) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $32 price target (versus a $28.54 close) at Citigroup. The 52-week range is $26.85 to $38.41, and the consensus price target is $35.56.

Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE: NWL) was down another 4.75% at $21.68 on Tuesday after poor earnings, hitting another multiyear low. The stock was maintained as Buy but the target price was cut to $29 from $36 at Citigroup. The consensus price target is $28.58, and the 52-week trading range is $21.22 to $50.90.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) was down 3% at $41.07 ahead of earnings and down another 9% at $37.35 afterward. Stifel maintained Papa John’s as Sell and lowered its target price to $35 from $38.

PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. Shares closed recently at $28.56, in a 52-week range of $25.30 to $32.45. The consensus price target is $31.38.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $180 target price (versus a $141.68 close) at Guggenheim.

Smith & Nephew PLC (NYSE: SNN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS. Shares last closed at $35.54, in a 52-week range of $33.79 to $40.43. The consensus price target is $40.57.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was up 0.5% at $13.12 ahead of earnings and had traded up handily before settling back down afterward. Stifel maintained it as Hold and cut the target price to $15 from $17. Wedbush maintained its Neutral rating but raised its Snap target to $11.50 from $10.00, noting a shortfall in daily active users (who obviously have too much free time on their hands).

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was up almost 11% at $379.57 on Tuesday after rumors of a Saudi investment and then after a tweet from Elon Musk that he wants to take the company private at $420 per share. Jefferies maintained it as Hold but raised the target price to $360 from $250. JPMorgan maintained its Underweight rating but raised its value to $308, based on a blended $195/$420 weighting.

Timken Co. (NYSE: TKR) was raised to Neutral from Underperform with a $55 price objective (versus a $48.35 close) at Merrill Lynch. The 52-week range is $41.85 to $55.65, and the consensus price target is $58.33.

Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE: VEEV) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $100 target price (versus an $81.31 close) at Guggenheim. The 52-week range is $52.17 to $85.00. The consensus price target is $82.15.

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Virtu Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: VIRT) was started as Equal Weight with a $22 price target (versus a $20.40 close) at Morgan Stanley. The 52-week range is $13.10 to $37.85, and the consensus price target is $24.83.

Vivint Solar Inc. (NYSE: VSLR) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with an $11 price target (versus a $5.50 close) at JMP Securities. The consensus price target is $6.50, and the 52-week range is $2.70 to $6.05.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Broadcom, CBS, Etsy, Illumina, PulteGroup, SeaWorld, Wynn Resorts, Zillow and many more.