Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alcoa, Chipotle, CrowdStrike, Deckers, Grubhub, Philip Morris, Skechers USA and More

The futures traded higher Friday morning as investors continue to weigh the advantages of a possible rate cut at the end of the month against what remains a very expensive and probably overbought stock market. This is a time when investors should be considering exactly how they want their portfolios and assets positioned for the rest 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 Friday, July 19, 2019.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) was started with an Outperform rating and an $18 price objective at Roth Capital. The Wall Street consensus price objective for the movie theater giant is $16.46. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $9.62.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) was raised to Buy from Neutral at William Blair. The 52-week trading range for the stock is $36.16 to $56.49, and the consensus price target for the insurance giant is $57.88. The shares ended Thursday at $55.60.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus. The 52-week trading range for the aluminum behemoth is $20.82 to $45.65, and the consensus price target is $30.83. The stock was last seen trading at $23.41.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was resumed in coverage with a Sell rating at Northcoast, which has a stunning $400 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $705.85. The stock closed way above that level Thursday at $764.04.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) saw its price target raised to $92 at Needham after the cybersecurity company posted huge first-time earnings results. The analysts noted that demand trends are so strong that management raised guidance for both forward quarter growth to 85% to 87% and the full year to 72% to 73% from 64%. The shares closed Thursday at $72.75, but were up a stunning 20% in the premarket.

CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $27.10 to $35.23, and the consensus price target is set at $33. The shares closed above that level on Thursday at $34.44.

Decker’s Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) saw its price target raised to $172 from $152 at Pivotal Research Group. That compares with a consensus price target of $160.45. The stock ended trading at $176.38 on Thursday.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) was started with a Market Perform rating and a price target of $55 at Cowen. The consensus target for the chemical conglomerate is $59.09, and the stock ended Thursday’s trading at $51.75.

Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB) was started with a Buy rating at Benchmark, which has a $95 price target. The consensus target is posted at $98.04, and the shares closed trading on Thursday at $74.91 apiece.

Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor

Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.