Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Athenahealth, Apple, Deere, Disney, Hormel, JinkoSolar, Micron, US Bancorp and More
November 27, 2018 9:00 am
Last Updated: January 11, 2020 2:28 pm
Stocks posted strong gains on Monday after the Thanksgiving week selling, but Tuesday was indicated lower on talk of more tariffs against China if a deal is not reached. Investors have seen numerous waves of selling in 2018, and there also has been lower upside after buying immediately after the big market sell-offs than in prior years. Now investors have to consider 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 analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while others 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 27, 2018.
Athenahealth Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo. Shares closed at $132.70 and have a 52-week trading range of $116.77 to $163.94. This company is in the process of being acquired by Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is down on fears that President Trump will allow tariffs to go on to the iPhone if a deal is not reached in trade. Daniel Ives of Wedbush has said this only adds to the pain around Apple but he thinks the ultimately $50 billion services story is the key here, and he is maintaining his Outperform rating and still has that super-high $310 price target. Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target to $235 from $240 after the recent news. Apple has a 52-week trading range of $150.24 to $233.47.
Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was reiterated as Buy at Argus, which raised its target price to $166 from $160 (versus a $148.92 prior close). The independent research firm noted that Deere has slid 15% from its highs, but it likes that the management was confident enough to raise the dividend payout by 15% and has earnings power in the coming quarters.
Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $44 price target (versus a $45.71 close) at Jefferies. It has a 52-week trading range of $31.71 to $46.24 and a consensus price target of $39.42.
JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) was up 15.5% at $10.65 after earnings on Monday. Credit Suisse has maintained its Neutral rating due in part to higher operating expenses.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was maintained as Neutral but the price target was cut to $41 from $52 (versus a $36.57 close) at UBS. The 52-week range is $33.82 to $64.66. The consensus price target is $63.45.
U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. The 52-week range is $48.49 to $58.50, and the consensus price target is $58.17.
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was raised to Outperform from In-Line with a $129 price target at Imperial Capital. Disney closed up 0.4% at $112.55 on Monday and was indicated up another 0.4% at $113.00 on Tuesday. Its 52-week range is $97.68 to $120.20 a share.
Other key analyst calls were seen in the following:
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