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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Abbott Labs, Avon, Caesars, Comcast, Rowan, UnitedHealth, Vonage and More
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Stocks have hit all-time highs, but they were indicated marginally lower on Monday after trade tariffs are set to kick in against China. Many investors have seen lower upside from buying on market pullbacks than in prior years, and now they have to consider how they want to have their investments positioned for the rest of 2018 and as 2019 approaches.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, but 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 are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, September 24, 2018.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) was maintained as Outperform and the price target was raised to $77 from $72 at Raymond James, and Wells Fargo reiterated it as Outperform and raised the target price to $80 from $77. The shares closed up 0.38% at $69.05 on Friday and were indicated up 2.8% at $71.00 on Monday.
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $202 price target (versus a $170.61 prior close) at Bernstein. It has a 52-week trading range of $149.94 to $175.17 and a consensus price target of $190.89.
Applied Genetic Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: AGTC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and the price target was raised to $20 from $6 at Wells Fargo. The shares were indicated up 17% at $5.15 on Monday morning. The 52-week range is $3.25 to $5.75, and the consensus price target is $6.80.
Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target price was raised to $3.50 from $1.75 at D.A. Davidson. The 52-week range is $1.38 to $2.99. The consensus analyst target is $2.37.
Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform and the target price was lowered to $40 from $43 (versus a $47.98 close) at BMO Capital Markets. The consensus price target is $46.63, and the 52-week range is $29.94 to $54.14.
Caesars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) was started with a Sell rating and assigned a $9 price target (versus a $10.80 close) at UBS. It has a 52-week range of $8.55 to $14.50 and a consensus price target of $14.00.
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Cohu Inc. (NASDAQ: COHU) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $30 price target (versus a $21.75 close) at D.A. Davidson. It has a 52-week range of $18.60 to $27.83. The consensus price target is $29.67.
Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was last seen trading down 3.4% at $36.60 after news that it won in the bidding for Sky, with a price tag of $39 billion. Comcast was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer, and MoffattNathanson downgraded it to Neutral from Buy. Its 52-week range is $30.43 to $44.00, and the consensus price target is $43.32.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform and the target price was lowered to $96 from $105 at BMO Capital Markets. It has a consensus analyst price target of $123.55 and a 52-week range of $77.55 to $124.00.
Krystal Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: KRYS) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $32 target price (versus a $16.88 close) at H.C. Wainwright. The $33.67 consensus price target compares with the 52-week trading range of $8.03 to $21.17.
PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse. It has a 52-week range of $100.36 to $122.07 and a consensus analyst price target of $120.20.
Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE: RDC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $20 price target (versus an $18.02 close) at Credit Suisse. That compares to the 52-week range of $10.94 to $18.11 and the consensus price target of $17.16.
Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform and the target price was cut to $58 from $62 (versus a $70.57 close) at BMO Capital Markets. It has a 52-week range of $47.51 to $75.24. The consensus price target is $66.93.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) was reiterated as Strong Buy and the target price was raised to $304 from $285.00 at Raymond James. The 52-week range is $186.00 to $271.16. The consensus price target is $289.71.
United Natural Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI) was raised to Sector Perform from Underperform but the target price was lowered to $32 from $36 at RBC Capital Markets. This was a day after its 8.5% post-earnings drop to $30.97.
Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) was started as Outperform at William Blair. The consensus price target is $16.13 and the 52-week range of $7.85 to $14.73.
Friday’s top analyst calls included Advanced Micro Devices, Alcoa, AT&T, Darden Restaurants, Micron Technology, New Age Beverages, Nike, Novavax, Pier 1 Imports, Under Armour and many more.
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