24/7 Wall St.

Stocks traded lower on Thursday for the end of the month, but markets hit an all-time high this week in anticipation that the Federal Reserve was going to deliver on its interest rate cut. Friday’s futures levels were higher ahead of the unemployment and payrolls report by about 0.1% on average. While economic readings have not been very strong and while earnings have not been stellar, the reality is that both areas have remained firm enough that all those imminent recession warnings by the media have been proven very wrong.

Still, investors have a lot of negative issues to consider, and the bull market is now well over 10 years old. This is a time for investors to consider what changes they should make to 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, November 1, 2019.

Altus Midstream Co. (NYSE: ALTM) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE: ANET) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the target price was slashed to $193 from $287 (versus a $244.57 prior close, but shares were indicated to open down almost 28% after earnings) at Stifel.

Arrow Electronics Inc. (NYSE: ARW) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $87 from $80 (versus a $79.28 close) at Raymond James.

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. (NYSE: CFR) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Wedbush Securities.

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) was reiterated as Outperform with a $90 target price (versus a $77.10 close) at Wedbush, which noted that all segments contributed to a positive quarter that was above expectations. The 52-week trading range is $61.69 to $84.74.

DuPont de Nemours Inc. (NYSE: DD) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $81 from $80 (versus a $65.91 close) at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting that the third quarter was better than expectations on fewer headwinds from facility downtime, even if the company is still not yet firing on all cylinders for a turnaround. Deutsche Bank maintained its Buy rating but lowered its target to $80 from $86. The 52-week trading range is $17.84 to $86.04.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) was maintained as Outperform but the target price was lowered to $202 from $216 at Raymond James.

GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) was the Zacks Bear of the Day, because it is unable to adapt to a changing landscape even as the video game market continues to soar. The stock previously closed down 5% at $5.44 a share. The 52-week trading range is $3.15 to $16.90.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.

IMAX Corp. (NYSE: IMAX) was reiterated with an Outperform rating and a $28 target price (versus a $21.26 close) at Wedbush, with the firm talking up expectations for 2020. Canaccord Genuity also raised the stock to Buy from Hold.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $39 from $34 (versus a $32.28 close) at Raymond James.

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS) traded down 3% to $25.14 ahead of earnings, but shares were indicated down about 21% at $19.90 on Friday morning after earnings. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating with a $28 target price. The 52-week trading range is $19.06 to $36.83.

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) was started with a Buy rating and a $180 target price (versus an $83.06 close) at Guggenheim. Shares were indicated up almost 2% at $84.50 ahead of the opening bell. The 52-week trading range is $72.05 to $158.80.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which noted that it the company is becoming a well-diversified fintech firm that has its hand in a lot of different pockets and that the recent fall of about 25% from its highs may be a buying opportunity. The 52-week trading range is $49.82 to $83.20.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TAK) was started with a Market Perform rating and a $19.50 target price (versus a $17.97 close) at Cowen.

Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) was reiterated as Outperform with an $80 target price at Credit Suisse, but the firm raised its valuation model by $3 per share.

YETI Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YETI) was down 4% at $33.31 ahead of earnings on Thursday, and shares were indicated down another 3.2% at $32.25 on Friday morning. Citigroup downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy.

Note that Merrill Lynch believes that four “broken” IPOs could have huge potential upside.

Also, investors in Wayfare are rightly concerned about its big losses, and SunPower investors have cause to pay attention too.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apple, BP, Cree, Etsy, Facebook, KLA, Lyft, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Tesla, Yum! Brands and many more.

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