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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: DowDuPont, Electronic Arts, Estee Lauder, Exxon, Generac, Match, Nasdaq, Novartis, PayPal, Snap, Vishay and More
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Stocks were looking for direction on Wednesday after Tuesday’s solid gains. The Dow Jones industrial average is now well over 2,500 points above its lows from the start of January. Until recently it had been very rewarding, as seen in early 2018 and before, buying stocks after every big market sell-off. Now investors need to consider how they want their assets positioned for 2019 and beyond.
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 were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, February 6, 2019.
AdvanSix Inc. (NASDAQ: ASIX) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen. After closing at $32.55, it has a consensus target price of $37.67, and its 52-week trading range is $22.57 to $44.43.
Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD) was raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs raised its rating to Neutral from Sell. This was after a 7.5% drop to $60.46 after earnings. The 52-week trading range is $44.87 to $69.49.
Domtar Corp. (NYSE: UFS) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets. Shares closed up 7.7% at $50.09 on Tuesday, and the consensus target price was $46.50.
DowDuPont Inc. (NYSE: DWDP) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform and the target price was lowered to $59 from $78 at Cowen. This was a day after Argus maintained DowDuPont as Buy but lowered the price target to $70 from $81.
Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen. Shares last closed at $81.59, in a 52-week range of $67.40 to $112.45. The consensus analyst target is $91.89.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) was maintained as Outperform but the price target was lowered to $95 from $111 (versus a $92.52 prior close) at Wedbush Securities. The firm noted that earnings were handily under expectations after competitive factors and after poor execution. EA shares were last seen down almost 16% at $77.90 after earnings, in a 52-week range of $73.91 to $151.26.
Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg. Shares last closed at $152.02, in a 52-week range of $121.47 to $158.80. The consensus price target is $151.40.
Everbridge Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG) was started with a Neutral rating at JPMorgan. Shares last closed at $62.98, in a 52-week range of $29.56 to $64.79. The consensus price target is $61.73.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was reiterated as Buy and with a $104 price target at Argus, after closing at $75.59. Exxon has a 52-week range of $64.65 to $87.36, and its consensus target price is $82.99.
Gartner Inc. (NYSE: IT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets. Shares last closed at $141.00, in a 52-week range of $111.57 to $161.21. The consensus price target is $144.80.
Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) was reiterated as Buy with a $340 target price (versus a $281.87 close) at Argus. It has a consensus target price of $355.00 and a 52-week trading range of $209.48 to $372.61.
Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target price was raised to $36 from $27 (versus a $30.05 close) at Citigroup.
Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNS) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $10 price target (versus a $3.66 close) at Leerink.
Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. Shares last closed at $55.68, in a 52-week range of $33.06 to $60.95. The stock has a consensus price target of $50.24.
Nasdaq Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $97 target price at Argus. The stock closed at $86.81 ahead of this call, with a $93.81 consensus target price.
New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: NTYCB) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target was raised to $15 from $10 (versus an $11.82 close) at UBS.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the target was raised to $62 from $58 (versus a $51.81 close) at Morgan Stanley.
Novartis A.G. (NYSE: NVS) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $98 for its American depositary shares (versus an $88.95 close) at Argus. The 52-week trading range is $72.30 to $92.39.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim. The stock closed at $92.97 ahead of the call, with a consensus target price of $99.77.
Qualys Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) was maintained as Outperform with a $90 price target but was removed from the Best Ideas List at Wedbush. The removal was after a 25% run in the shares since October, and the current valuation now better reflects the improving cloud secular trend growth heading into the rest of 2019.
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was up 1.6% at $7.04 ahead of earnings but the stock was up 23% at $8.68 in Wednesday’s post-earnings trading indications. Wedbush reiterated it as Outperform with a $12.25 price target (versus a $7.04 close). Also, Raymond James raised it to Market Perform from Underperform.
Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VNDA) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald. Shares last closed at $25.06, in a 52-week range of $13.88 to $33.44. The consensus price target is $42.50.
Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (NYSE: VSH) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch. The stock closed up 10% at $21.60 on Tuesday after earnings. The consensus target price is $21.00, and the 52-week trading range is $16.63 to $26.50.
Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Albermarle, Alphabet, Booking, Box, CenturyLink, Cigna, Kraft Heinz, MercadoLibre, Tesla, Waste Management and many more.
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