Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alphabet, Amex, Apple, AT&T, Boeing, JPMorgan, Nokia, Slack, Under Armour and More

Investing

Published: October 29, 2019 9:00 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 1:56 pm

Stocks were indicated to open marginally lower on Tuesday, but not by enough that the outcome of the day looked set in stone. This is also after the S&P 500 hit a new all-time high on Monday, thwarting all those imminent recession calls from the media. Investors still have to grapple with a slower economy at the same time that the bull market is well over 10 years old. Now investors should be considering what changes in their portfolios and assets to make 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 others 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 Tuesday, October 29, 2019.

Abiomed Inc. (NASDAQ: ABMD) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) closed up almost 2% at $1,288.98 ahead of earnings and was indicated down just over 1.1% at $1,274.00 after earnings. Raymond James reiterated the shares as Outperform and raised the target price to $1,475 from $1,360 in that call. KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained its Overweight rating and raised its target to $1,545 from $1,515.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $149 from $142 (versus a $118.58 prior close) at Morgan Stanley. It has a 52-week range of $89.05 to $129.34 and a $132.21 consensus target price.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Outperform with a $265 target price (versus a $249.05 close) at Wedbush Securities, with the pre-earnings call noting that all eyes will be on iPhone 11 demand. The street estimates are for total revenues of $62.9 billion and $2.84 in earnings per share.

Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE: APO) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $53 from $49 (versus a $41.25 close) at Citigroup.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was reiterated as Outperform at Raymond James, and the firm raised its target price up to $45 from $40 (versus a $38.49 close). Nomura/Instinet also reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $44 from $34. AT&T was up 4.3% on Monday after making a settlement with the activist firm Elliott, and it now has a 52-week trading range of $26.80 to $38.86. The prior consensus target price was $36.54.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ: OZK) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that 2019 has been a tough year for the banks. Shares last closed at $29.00, with a consensus price target of $31.22.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was maintained as Neutral but the target price was lowered to $369 from $395 (versus a $340.88 close) at Buckingham. Boeing was indicated marginally lower this morning, and the consensus target price was last seen down at $384.19, since more analysts have downgraded it or lowered their price targets in light of the internal communications about safety issues on the 737 Max.

Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) was raised to Hold from Underperform and the target price was raised to $105 from $80 at Jefferies. The stock previously closed at $106.87, with a $111.36 consensus target price.

Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the maker of Uggs is firing on all cylinders. Shares most recently closed at $148.13, with a consensus price target of $181.08.

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: DRNA) was started with an Outperform rating and a $27 target price at Robert W. Baird. The stock previously closed at $16.39, and it had a $22.38 consensus target price.