Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: GoldCorp, Gilead, GrubHub, Hilton Worldwide, KKR, Raymond James, Western Digital and More

The futures traded lower again Friday morning as investors tried to balance yesterday’s relief rally. Prior to the big rally on Thursday, the S&P 500 had been down six days in a row. The one and only time it was down a seventh day in the past five years was right before the 2016 election, and while that statistic was avoided, we look to trade down big again today. The trend of buying the dips has not worked as well in 2018 as it has in prior years, and many investors have been considering how they want their investments positioned for the longer term.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new investing ideas 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 also has 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 Friday, October 26, 2018.

FirstCash Inc. (NASDAQ: FCFS) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $90 price target at Wedbush. That compares with the Wall Street consensus target of $94.14. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $74.94.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $8.42 to $15.55. The consensus price target is set at $14.79. The shares closed Thursday at $8.49.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray. The 52-week trading range for the biotech giant is $64.27 to $89.54, and the consensus price target is set at $87.11. The stock ended trading on Thursday at $68.62.

GrubHub Inc. (NASDAQ: GRUB) was added to the Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week trading range is a wide $58.14 to $149.35, and the consensus price target is posted at $137.23. The shares closed trading on Thursday at $96.48, down almost 12% on the day.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HLT) was raised to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI. The 52-week trading range for the lodging giant is $63.76 to $88.11, and the consensus price objective is $85.22. The shares ended trading on Thursday at $85.22.

KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR) was raised to Buy from Hold at Argus. The 52-week trading range is $18.74 to $28.73. The consensus price target for the firm is $31.33, and the shares closed Thursday at $23.51.

Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. The stock has traded between $73.74 and $102.17 over the past year. The consensus price target is posted at $107.75. The stock was down almost 5% in premarket action, after closing Thursday at $75.56.

SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) was raised to Buy from Neutral at D.A. Davidson. The 52-week trading range is $204.32 to $333.74. The consensus price target is $362.30, and the stock closed Thursday at $263.92.

Follow @Jonogg on Twitter to receive the daily analyst calls and other market research calls directly on your feed.

Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor

Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.