Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Acorda, Activision, Bloom Energy, Care.com, CBS, Deere, Ferrari and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: August 14, 2019 9:05 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 5:24 pm

Stocks may have staged a strong snapback recovery on Tuesday as many tariffs were delayed by 90 days, but the markets were giving back most or all those gains on Wednesday on more yield curve inversion concerns. The markets hit all-time highs in late in July, and the bull market is now about 10 and a half years old. Investors need 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 for Wednesday, August 14, 2019.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) was reiterated as Neutral but the target price was cut to $156 from $182 at Citigroup, and Guggenheim downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy. The shares were indicated down 3.7% at $137.00 on Wednesday, after closing at $142.23 on Tuesday.

Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its target price was slashed to $6 from $31 (versus a $2.73 prior close, after a 3.5% loss) at H.C. Wainwright. The stock was indicated down 4% at $2.62 on Wednesday, and it has a 52-week trading range of $2.51 to $29.75.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) was reiterated as Market Perform but the target price was raised to $43 from $40 (versus a $48.13 close, after a 2.2% gain) at BMO Capital Markets. The stock was indicated down 1.4% at $47.44 ahead of Wednesday’s open. It has a 52-week trading range of $39.85 to $84.68 and a consensus price target of $53.52.

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $50 (versus a $44.86 close) at Argus. It has a 52-week trading range of $35.30 to $45.28 and a consensus price target of $46.14.

Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE: BE) was down 42% at $4.60, a post-IPO low, on Tuesday as earnings disappointed and as natural gas systems are competing with adoption of the company’s systems. KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained Bloom Energy as Overweight but slashed the price target to $15 from $27. Shares closed at $4.60, in a 52-week trading range of $4.54 to $38.00 and with a consensus price target of $21.63.

Care.com Inc. (NYSE: CARE) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $13 target price (versus a $9.33 close) at BTIG.

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) is finally merging back into Viacom, or vice versa. CBS shares closed up 1.3% at $48.70 on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets downgraded the media company to Market Perform from Outperform. On the other side of the coin, Merrill Lynch raised its rating to Buy from Neutral and has a $63 price objective.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was maintained as Hold at Deutsche Bank, but the firm lowered its price target to $155 from $163 in the call. The shares closed up 1.3% at $75.38 on Tuesday, and the consensus target price was $80.60. The 52-week trading range is $128.32 to $171.22.

Fastly Inc. (NYSE: FSLY) was started as Overweight and assigned a $21 target price (versus a $15.95 close) at Piper Jaffray.

Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $182 target price (versus a $160.92 close) at Goldman Sachs. The 52-week trading range is $93.85 to $170.54 and the consensus price target is $168.78.

Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $62 (versus a $50.33 close) at Argus.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Piper Jaffray, which also cut the target price to $40 from $45 (versus a $44.55 close, after a 1.6% drop). The stock was indicated down 32% at $30.15 a share after earnings and revenues disappointed.

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Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) was reinstated as Neutral with a $28 target price at Goldman Sachs. The stock closed up 3.1% at $21.20 ahead of the call, and its consensus target price is $26.79. The 52-week trading range is $26.80 to $34.96.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) was started with a Buy rating and assigned an $85 target price (versus a $66.70 close, after a 5% gain) at Rosenblatt Securities. It has a 52-week trading range of $58.50 to $100.45 and a consensus price target of $97.50.

HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which noted that the company is hitting the spot for investors after its quarterly report last week, with a big gain in earnings and revenues leading the way. The Zacks Bear of the Day is Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ: KHC) due to so many internal problems, and now Zacks noted that the best thing the company could hope for is a buyout from a more properly run consumer packaged goods company with better management.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Barrick Gold, Domino’s Pizza, Intel, McDonald’s, Occidental Petroleum, Salesforce.com and many more companies.