Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AMD, Apple, Chipotle, Costco, Exxon, Netflix, Qualcomm, Ulta, US Bancorp and More

Investing

Published: July 18, 2019 8:55 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 6:25 pm

Stocks were indicated to open marginally lower on Thursday, but the three major equity indexes remain effectively just under their all-time highs. The bull market is now well over 10 years old, and investors are expecting the first rate hike announcement at the end of July. This is a time when investors have to be considering exactly how they want their portfolios and assets positioned for the second half of 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 traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

We have provided these calls in a quick-hit summary for easy reading, and additional comments and trading data have been added on some of the calls. 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 on Thursday, July 18, 2019.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $93 from $87 at Raymond James.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho, but it was a valuation call after an 80% surge in its shares in 2019. Shares closed down 0.7% at $33.60 on Wednesday and were indicated down another 1% at $33.25 Thursday morning. The 52-week range of $15.72 to $34.86, and the consensus target price is $31.21.

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein.

Allergan PLC (NYSE: AGN) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform and the target price was lowered to $188 from $217 at Leerink.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. The upgrade talked up the upcoming 5G iPhone cycle. Shares closed down 0.56% at $203.35, in a 52-week range of $142.00 to $233.47 and with a consensus target price of $212.50.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform and the target price was raised to $47 from $46 at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. Argus maintained it at Hold, based on continued revenue pressure after this week’s earnings.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was reiterated as Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $700 from $658 at Morgan Stanley.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $300 from $260 at Raymond James.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform and the target price was lowered to $90 from $100 at RBC Capital Markets.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was reiterated as Outperform and its target was raised to $300 from $284 at Raymond James.