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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Best Buy, Chesapeake Energy, Comcast, Cree, EverQuote, KeyCorp, Lumentum, Nvidia, Vodafone, Xilinx and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: November 13, 2018 9:05 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 2:59 pm

Stocks were indicated to open marginally higher on Tuesday, just a day after Monday’s big stock market sell-off knocked off 602 DJIA points and about 55 S&P 500 points. Still, the worst major index performer was the 3% drop of 210 points on the Nasdaq 100 while the bond market was closed. Investors have faced numerous waves of selling in 2018, and they also have seen lower upside after buying immediately after the big market sell-offs than in prior years. It is time for investors to start considering how they want their investments and assets positioned for 2019.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these reports cover stocks to buy, while 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 Tuesday, November 13, 2018.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch. The stock was down 0.9% at $67.15 on Monday, and it has a 52-week range of $52.92 to $84.37 and a consensus price target of $79.44.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) was raised to Neutral from Sell and the target price was raised to $4.50 from $3.50 (versus a $3.46 prior close, after a 4.7% drop) at Citigroup. Chesapeake Energy has a 52-week range of $2.53 to $5.60, and its consensus target price was last seen at $4.50.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was down only 0.9% at $38.00 after President Trump tweeted about antitrust issues. Barclays just reinstated Comcast as Overweight and assigned a $44 price target. The 52-week trading range is $30.43 to $44.00, and the consensus price target is $43.83.

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) was started as Outperform and assigned a $55 price target (versus a $41.52 close, after a 4.5% drop) at BMO Capital Markets. Cree has a consensus target price of $46.50 and a 52-week trading range of $30.78 to $51.78.

EverQuote Inc. (NASDAQ: EVER) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price objective was lowered to $15 from $21 (versus an $11.91 close, after a 5.7% drop) at Merrill Lynch. Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating but still lowered its target to $18 from $23. The 52-week trading range is $11.53 to $22.09, and the consensus price target was $22.40 ahead of this move. The post-earnings drop on Tuesday was down almost 16% at $10.03, for a new low.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Nomura/Instinet with an $18 price target. It has a 52-week range of $16.48 to $22.40, and it had a consensus price target of $22.36.

Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan after its shares fell almost 33% to $37.50 on lowered guidance. The firm also slashed its price target to $50 from $80. The 52-week trading range is $37.00 to $74.40, and the consensus price target is $74.69.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna, which noted that it will win from the benefits of artificial intelligence ahead. The stock has a 52-week range of $176.01 to $292.76 and a consensus price target of $288.79. Shares fell 7.8% to $189.54 on Monday but were indicated up over 1% on Tuesday morning.

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Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) was raised to Strong Buy from Buy at CFRA (S&P), with the research firm noting that its dividend is sustainable after earnings. The American depositary shares have a 52-week range of $18.45 to $32.75, and the consensus price target is $25.69. Vodafone was indicated up 8% at $20.08 on Tuesday.

Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) was raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna, and similar to Nvidia was called a future winner from artificial intelligence trends. The stock closed down 3.8% at $82.33 on Monday but was indicated up 2% at $84.00 on Tuesday. The 52-week range is $62.27 to $88.20, and the consensus price target is $86.23.

Other key analyst calls seen on Tuesday included the following:

Achaogen Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Alarm.Com Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ALRM) was raised to Outperform from In-Line but the price target was trimmed to $58 from $60 (versus a $47.19 close) at Imperial Capital.

Atlassian Corp. PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) was raised to Buy from Neutral at BTIG, after a 3.4% drop to $70.80.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Nomura/Instinet.

Douglas Emmett Inc. (NYSE: DEI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.

Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley FBR.

First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $181 price target at Barclays.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Nomura/Instinet.

Infinera Corp. (NASDAQ: INFN) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the price target was cut to $6.50 from $9.00 (versus a $4.55 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Magellan Health Inc. (NASDAQ: MGLN) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Leerink.

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Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: MOH) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE: PAGS) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Citigroup.

Perrigo Co. PLC (NYSE: PRGO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg, but it was up 2.3% at $65.58 on Monday.

SailPoint Technologies Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SAIL) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $33 from $32 at Goldman Sachs. Shares closed down 4.5% at $24.30 ahead of this call.

Smart Sand Inc. (NASDAQ: SND) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray. It was down 5.5% at $3.07 on Monday.

Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) was maintained as Neutral and the price target was lowered to $74 from $78 (versus a $67.37 close) at Citigroup.

Monday’s top analyst calls included Achaogen, Apple, Athenahealth, Crocs, Finisar, Jabil, Michael Kors, Occidental Petroleum, Starbucks, Walt Disney and many more.