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

October 29, 2019 by Jon C. Ogg

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.


Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was reiterated as Equal Weight and the price target was raised to $244 from $221 at Morgan Stanley. Goldman Sachs previously closed up 1.6% at $217.75 in a 52-week range of $151.70 to $234.06, and it had a $235.05 price target.

Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB) was last seen down 32% at just under $40 for a 52-week low after earnings. Wedbush maintained its Outperform rating but said it would review its prior $90 target after the conference call info. Craig-Hallum downgraded it to Hold from Buy and slashed its target to $40 from $100.

Horizon Technology Finance Co. (NASDAQ: HRZN) was started with a Neutral rating and an $11.50 target price (versus a $12.13 close) at Janney.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $138 from $124 at Morgan Stanley.

MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB) was started as Overweight and assigned a $158 target price (versus a $128.02 close) at Piper Jaffray.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform in an overseas call by Credit Suisse, with the firm taking its target price down by one-third as it faces sustained market share loss with limited margin expansion despite the long-term growth of 5G. The 52-week trading range is $3.58 to $6.65, and the consensus target price was $5.06.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR) was maintained as Overweight but the target price was lowered to $78 from $85 (versus a $65.86 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) was downgraded Neutral from Buy at UBS.

Slack Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: WORK) was started with an Overweight rating and a $30 target price (versus a $21.47 close) at Piper Jaffray. The shares closed up almost 5% at $21.47 and were indicated up marginally on Tuesday, in a post-IPO trading range of $19.85 to $42.00 and with a $33.79 prior consensus target price.

Sunoco L.P. (NYSE: SUN) was started as Buy with a $36 target price (versus a $32.78 close) at Mizuho.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) was reiterated as Neutral with a $23 price target (versus a $21.19 close) at Wedbush.

Webster Financial Corp. (NYSE: WBS) was started as Underweight with a $42 price target (versus a $45.55 close) at Stephens.

Jefferies analysts are reviewing third-quarter results, and some of the hottest technology stocks are coming in very strong. Four are among the firm’s top growth stock buys.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Charter Communications, First Solar, Hasbro, Lowe’s, Netflix, Procter & Gamble, Roku, Tiffany, Yum China and many more.

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