Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Adobe, Chevron, Dow, JD.com, Lululemon, 3M, Macy’s, Nucor, PNC, RH, RingCentral, WingStop, Zillow and More

December 9, 2019 by Jon C. Ogg

Stocks surged higher after Friday’s very strong payrolls and unemployment report, but Monday looked directionless with S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average futures down less than 0.1% each. Investors are starting to see upside targets issued for 2020, and everyone who was dead set on their recession calls in recent months is now trying to figure out where to go next. There are still many 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 as 2019 winds down 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 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 Monday, December 9, 2019.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $410 from $340 at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed up 1% at $306.23, in a 52-week range of $204.95 to $313.11. The consensus price target is $317.62.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. Shares closed up 1.4% at $118.01, in a 52-week range of $100.22 to $127.34. The consensus price target is $136.84.

Delek US Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DK) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $59 target price at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Shares closed up 2.4% at $53.22, in a 52-week range of $40.44 to $60.52. The consensus price target is $55.81.

Fortive Corp. (NYSE: FTV) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $84 from $76 at Citigroup.

Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ: GH) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this cancer diagnostics provider just delivered 181% revenue growth and 18,500 tests to patients and labs. Shares most recently closed at $73.98, with a consensus price target of $115.80.

JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ: JD) was started with a Buy rating and a $40 target price at HSBC Securities.

Kraton Corp. (NYSE: KRA) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $31 target price at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was reiterated as Buy and the price objective was raised to $268 from $230 at Merrill Lynch. Shares closed down 0.6% at $229.38, in a 52-week range of $110.71 to $233.12. The consensus price target is $225.15.

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. Shares closed up 4.3% at $171.47, in a 52-week range of $150.58 to $219.75. The consensus price target is $170.63.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. Shares closed up 0.3% at $15.15, in a 52-week range of $14.11 to $32.83. The consensus price target is $15.43.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. Shares closed up 0.6% at $60.20, in a 52-week range of $43.96 to $69.65. The consensus price target is $81.00.


Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Longbow Research. Shares closed up 2.0% at $57.61, in a 52-week range of $46.10 to $62.31. The consensus price target is $57.85.

O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) was started as Neutral with an $18 target price at Goldman Sachs. Shares closed up 1.7% at $17.30, in a 52-week range of $16.77 to $25.27. The consensus price target is $25.21.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) was maintained as Outperform with a $155 price target at RBC Capital Markets, but the firm did remove it from the Top Picks list as its price target has more or less been achieved.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO) was raised to Buy from Underperform in a two-notch upgrade at Merrill Lynch, and the firm set a $130 price objective. Shares closed up 0.8% at $106.62, in a 52-week range of $54.74 to $107.57. The consensus price target is $95.90.

RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: RGCO) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $32 from $30 (versus a $29.33 prior close) at Janney.

RH (NYSE: RH) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $275 from $200 at Guggenheim.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) was reiterated as Buy and the price objective was raised to $198 from $187 at Merrill Lynch.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was raised to Buy from Underperform in a two-notch upgrade at Merrill Lynch, and the firm set a $122 price objective.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Longbow Research. Shares closed up 2.0% at $35.10, in a 52-week range of $25.03 to $39.35. The consensus price target is $34.18.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $53 target price at UBS. Shares closed up 3.7% at $35.53, in a 52-week range of $16.61 to $35.63. The consensus price target is $31.89.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) was started with an Overweight rating and a $22 target price at Morgan Stanley.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING) was reiterated as Buy with a $140 target price at Goldman Sachs.

Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) was started as Neutral with a $46 target price at Citigroup.

Way beyond ten baggers: Here are 10 large-cap stocks that have risen by 1,000% to 4,000% over the past decade.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Anthem, Ciena, Dollar General, Encana, Lennar, Lululemon Athletica, Sage Therapeutics, Target, Tesla, Trade Desk, Yext and many more.

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