Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amazon, CarMax, Celgene, Chevron, Exxon, Lyft, FedEx, Peabody Energy, UPS, Wells Fargo and More

April 1, 2019 by Jon C. Ogg

The first quarter is over, and the Dow Jones industrial average was up 11% year to date, the S&P 500 was up 13% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq generated a return of more than 16%. All of that is on top of the bull market officially turning 10 years old. Stocks were indicated to open higher on Monday after the first positive manufacturing report out of China in several months. Investors need to consider how they want their investments and assets positioned for the rest of the year and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new trading and investing ideas for our readers. Some of the daily analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while other reports cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary and trading data have been added on some of the daily analyst reports. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Refinitiv (Thomson Reuters) sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, April 1, 2019.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) was reiterated as Outperform at Wedbush Securities, but the firm added the video game publisher to its Best Ideas List on word that it looks to be positioned to deliver significant outperformance over the next two years, even as muted performance of some top games could still allow it to beat earnings expectations in 2019. The firm sees Activision Blizzard being worth $60 at a 20-times earnings in 2020 figure plus its net cash.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $2,085 from $1,975 (versus a $1,780.75 prior close) at Oppenheimer. Amazon has a consensus target price of $2,080.05.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) was raised to Buy from Neutral and but the price target was lowered to $65 from $74 (versus a $45.48 close) at Citigroup.

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) closed up 9.6% at $69.80 on Friday, and on Monday its rating was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens. It has a consensus target price of $79.15 and a 52-week trading range of $55.24 to $81.67.

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) closed almost 8% higher at $94.34 on Friday after two proxy firms recommended that investors support its acquisition by Bristol-Myers. As a result, it was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS and to Neutral from Overweight at Atlantic Equities.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was started with an Overweight rating Morgan Stanley. After closing at $123.18, shares were indicated up 1% at $124.40. Chevron’s consensus target price is $137.54.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was started as Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley. Exxon closed flat at $80.80, and it has a 52-week range of $64.65 to $87.36 and a consensus price target of $83.99.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg. FedEx closed up 2% at $181.41, in a 52-week range of $150.94 to $266.67. The consensus price target is $221.40.

F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target price was raised to $180 from $155 at Nomura/Instinet.


Hain Celestial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. Shares closed down 1.1% at $23.12, in a 52-week range of $14.45 to $32.30. The consensus price target is $19.87.

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) was raised to Strong Buy from Market Perform at Raymond James. Shares closed up 0.4% at $26.59. The 52-week range is $21.49 to $30.21, and the consensus price target is $31.56.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, but the firm raised its price target to $20 from $19. Shares closed at $20.01 on Friday, and the 52-week range of $14.62 to $20.44. Kinder Morgan had a $21.47 consensus target price.

Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James. Shares closed down 1.4% at $49.09. The have a 52-week range of $37.29 to $64.90 and a consensus price target of $56.88.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) was started only with a Neutral rating at Guggenheim, with the firm noting that its outlook may be too difficult to digest after having to look too far out with too many assumptions.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: MGY) was started as Outperform and assigned a $15 target price at Credit Suisse.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. Shares closed flat at $54.58, in a 52-week range of $47.61 to $66.38. The consensus price target is $67.63.

NextEra Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: NEP) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $49 from $45 at Goldman Sachs.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. Shares closed up 0.7% at $69.84 and have a 52-week range of $50.26 to $71.99. The consensus price target is $70.40.

Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $33 target price at Deutsche Bank.

Redfin Corp. (NASDAQ: RDFN) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $26 from $17 at Piper Jaffray.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $76 from $63 at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Shockwave Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: SWAV) was started with a Neutral rating and was a $37 price objective (versus a $33.47 close) at Merrill Lynch.

Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) was started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) was raised to Buy from Hold at Berenberg. Shares closed up 1.3% at $111.74. The 52-week range is $89.89 to $125.09, and the consensus analyst price target is $117.09.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods, which lowered its price target to $50 from $58 on the belief that the bank likely will not save as much on its operating expenses as previously expected.

Y-mAbs Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: YMAB) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $36 target price (versus a $26.21 close) at H.C. Wainwright. This company has an $896 million market cap, and the stock has a 52-week range of $15.17 to $31.00.

Friday’s top analyst calls included Arista Networks, Carlyle, F5 Networks, Intuit, Oracle, Salesforce, Viacom, Viking Therapeutics, Wells Fargo and many more.

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