Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Citigroup, CommScope, CVS, CyberArk, Emerson, Match, Mylan, Qualcomm, Roku, Square, Twitter, Vonage and More

November 7, 2019 by Jon C. Ogg

Stocks were indicated to open higher again on Thursday to keep the challenge of all-time highs alive. Investors still have a lot of pressing issues and risks to consider now that the bull market is over 10 and a half years old. This is a time for investors to consider 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. Our goal is to find new ideas for traders and long-term investors alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while some 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 Thursday, November 7, 2019.

Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD) was reiterated as Neutral but the target price was cut to $79 from $94 at JPMorgan. The parent of Budweiser closed at $79.33 and had a consensus target price of $102.01 ahead of the call.

Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that profit decline and changing consumer preferences are affecting this car rental stock. Shares last closed at $29.25, with a consensus price target of $37.29.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was reiterated as Buy and the price objective was raised to $85 from $78 (versus a $74.42 prior call) at Merrill Lynch.

CommScope Holding Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: COMM) was reiterated as Buy with a $16 price target (versus an $11.75 close) at Nomura/Instinet.

CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) was up 5.3% at $70.93 after earnings. UBS reiterated it as Buy and raised its target to $78 from $71. Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $83 from $72.

CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR) was up 8.2% at $115.37 after earnings. JPMorgan reiterated it as Overweight and raised its target price to $163 from $160. UBS maintained it as Neutral.

Elanco Animal Health Inc. (NYSE: ELAN) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) was reiterated as Buy and the target was raised to $83 from $77 at Citigroup. Shares closed at $73.60, with a prior consensus target price of $75.39.

Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) was up 0.25% at $135.36 ahead of earnings but was trading down 13.7% at $116.85 after the reaction to earnings. UBS maintained it as Buy but lowered its target to $142 from $156. Wedbush Securities reiterated its Neutral rating with a $117 target price.

Fox Corp. (NASDAQ: FOX) was up 2.9% at $33.27 in Thursday’s indications. Wells Fargo maintained it as Underperform, but the firm raised its target to $32 from $30.

Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Mylan N.V. (NASDAQ: MYL) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at JPMorgan, which cut the target price to $18 from $25. The stock closed down 3.5% at $17.17 on Wednesday and was indicated marginally lower on Thursday. Its prior consensus target price was $26.25.

Papa John’s International (NASDAQ: PZZA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at MKM Partners, while Stephens reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $70 from $60.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) closed down almost 1% at $84.63 on Wednesday but was indicated up 5.2% at $89.07 on Thursday’s post-earnings reaction. JPMorgan reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $97 from $88, and UBS kept its Neutral rating but still raised its target to $87 from $73.

RealPage Inc. (NYSE: RP) was down 2.3% at $59.74 on Wednesday, and the post-earnings reaction was down 7.5% more at $55.25 on Thursday. JPMorgan downgraded it to Neutral from Overweight and cut the target price to $65 from $78. KeyBanc Capital Markets kept an Overweight rating but cut its target to $72 from $76.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) was up 1% at $141.05 ahead of earnings but was indicated to open down 15% at $119.85 on Thursday’s post-earnings reaction. Wedbush reiterated it at Neutral with a $105 target price.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was reiterated as Neutral at Piper Jaffray, but the firm cut its target to $66 from $75. Wedbush reiterated its Neutral rating and $75 target price, and Nomura/Instinet reiterated its Reduce rating on the shares. JPMorgan maintained its Overweight rating but cut its target to $75 from $87.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) was downgraded to Underperform from In-Line at Evercore ISI. Twitter closed down 0.9% at $29.54 on Wednesday and was indicated down another 1.6% at $29.05 on Thursday.

UDR Inc. (NYSE: UDR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho.

Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) was maintained as Buy but the target was cut to $12 from $16 at Citigroup, and KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained its Overweight rating but lowered its target to $16 from $17. Vonage was down almost 17% at $8.37 after earnings, and the prior consensus target price was $15.68.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $143 from $136 at JPMorgan.

Yeti Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YETI) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the premium cooler maker is posting double-digit growth numbers. Shares most recently closed at $30.73, with a consensus price target of $38.92.

Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at D.A. Davidson.

More than a few on Wall Street see crude inventories diving in 2020, and if demand spikes from a trade deal, or slowing production drops from a geopolitical issue, prices could be going much higher. One firm sees three top oil giants coming out on top.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Altice USA, CenturyLink, Cigna, Emerson Electric, Foot Locker, Groupon, Lululemon Athletica, Nike, State Street, Walt Disney and many more.

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