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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apple, Canopy Growth, CrowdStrike, Delta, J&J, Rio Tinto, Roku, Square, Tilray, Twilio and More

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Stocks were indicated to open sharply higher on Brexit hopes and U.S./China trade hopes, and earnings season will kick off next week. The bull market is now well over 10 years old, and volatility has been elevated despite strong double-digit percentage gains in 2019. Now is a time that investors need to be considering what changes they should be making for their portfolios and assets heading into late 2019 and as 2020 approaches.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new ideas for traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while some 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 sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations for Friday, October 11, 2019.

Alteryx Inc. (NYSE: AYX) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this big-data analytics engine is growing sales at 80% from companies drowning in dark data. Its shares most recently closed at $109.78, with a consensus price target of $139.75.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Outperform at Wedbush Securities, but the firm raised its longstanding $245 price target up to $265 as the battle against Disney and Netflix begins and based on the sum of the parts in the businesses as a whole. Apple closed up 1.4% at $230.09. It has a 52-week range of $142.00 to $230.44 and a consensus target price of $229.28.

Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE: CGC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies. The stock closed down 10.6% at $20.42, in a 52-week range of $20.42 to $59.25.

Clarus Corp. (NASDAQ: CLAR) was started with a Buy rating and an $18 target price at Jefferies. It closed up less than 1% at $11.26 and has a 52-week range of $8.56 to $15.10. The consensus analyst target is $15.90.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $66 target price at Goldman Sachs. It closed down 2.7% at $61.41, in a 52-week range of $51.61 to $101.88. The consensus target price is $89.76.

Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $170 target price at Stifel. Shares closed flat at $143.73, in a 52-week range of $102.97 to $180.76. The consensus target price is $176.08.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus. Delta closed down 1.5% at $53.10. It has a 52-week range of $45.08 to $63.44 and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch. It closed up 2.1% at $26.18, in a 52-week range of $22.12 to $30.20 and with a consensus target price of $30.80.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE: IHG) was started with a Hold rating at Deutsche Bank. The shares closed up less than 1% at $59.37. The 52-week range is $53.57 to $71.02, and the consensus target price is $69.20.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $155 price target at Bernstein. The stock closed flat at $129.06. It has a 52-week range of $121.00 to $148.99 and a consensus target price of $149.35.

nVent Electric PLC (NYSE: NVT) was started as Buy with a $27 price target at Gabelli. It closed flat at $19.20 and has a 52-week range of $19.04 to $28.49. The consensus target price is $23.67.

Perrigo Co. PLC (NYSE: PRGO) was raised to Buy from Hold at Argus. Shares closed flat at $52.00, in a 52-week range of $36.28 to $75.42 and with a consensus target price of $52.89.

Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies. Shares closed up 2.7% at $50.90, in a 52-week range of $44.62 to $64.02. The consensus target price is $54.61.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $155 price target at Jefferies. Roku closed down 1.4% at $116.13, in a 52-week range of $26.30 to $176.55. It has a consensus target price of $134.94.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was started as Reduce with and assigned a $49 target price at Nomura/Instinet. Susquehanna gave Square the opposite treatment, raising its Neutral rating to Positive. The stock closed flat at $62.03. It has a 52-week range of $49.82 to $83.20 and a consensus analyst target of $78.88.

Terex Corp. (NYSE: TEX) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays. Shares closed up about 2% at $23.81. The 52-week range is $22.84 to $38.57, and the consensus target price is $30.71.

Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY) saw its price target slashed to $25 from $57 at Jefferies. Tilray closed down 13.5% at $20.65. It has a 52-week range of $20.59 to $178.85 and a consensus target price of $48.58.

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) was started as Outperform with a $135 target price at RBC Capital Markets. It closed down less than 1% at $110.29, in a 52-week range of $62.43 to $151.00. The consensus target price is $150.80.

Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock yet again. The firm said that the exploration and production companies are hitting new lows and this may finally be the bottom. Shares last closed at $6.86, with a consensus price target of $17.68.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American Airlines, Apple, Bed Bath & Beyond, Box, Cisco, HP, Kroger, Netflix, PG&E, UnitedHealth and many more.

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