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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Adobe, Biogen, Bristol-Myers, Broadcom, Charles Schwab, Ciena, Etsy, Gilead, Oracle, Sarepta, Snap, Wayfair and More

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Stocks traded higher to all-time highs on Thursday on news that a China trade deal was very close, seemingly without any cares about impeachment, and the indexes were indicated up another 0.25% or so on Friday. Investors have grown to discount any news of an imminent recession that was being touted recently, and they are also seeing more upside calls for 2020 stock market performance. There are of course still many pressing issues and risks to consider now that the bull market has raged longer than a decade. Now is the time for investors to consider what changes they should be making for their portfolios and assets heading into 2020.

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 other 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 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, December 13, 2019.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $330 from $330 at Barclays. Wedbush Securities maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target to $315 from $290. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target to $350 from $325.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was raised to Neutral from Underperform and the target price was raised to $300 from $260 (versus a $293.85 prior close) at Credit Suisse.

Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE) was raised to Outperform from Perform and assigned a $135 target price (versus an $84.05 close) at Oppenheimer.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) was raised to Buy from Hold with an $80 target price at Argus.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was up 2.5% at $327.80 ahead of earnings and down 1.5% at $323.00 afterward. Wells Fargo reiterated it as Market Perform but raised its target to $315 from $285. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated it as Overweight and raised the price target to $360 from $340.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $56 from $53 at Barclays. Piper Jaffray raised it from Neutral to Overweight with a $50 target price.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $233 from $228 (versus a $179.79 close) at Credit Suisse.

Container Store Group Inc. (NYSE: TCS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that higher costs are hitting fiscal 2019 earnings estimates. Shares last closed at $4.16, with a consensus price target of $5.25.

DCP Midstream L.P. (NYSE: DCP) was started with a Hold rating and $26 target price (versus $23.69 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $39 from $38 at Wells Fargo.


Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) was started with a Buy rating and a $55 target price (versus a $41.98 close) at SunTrust.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and the target price was lowered to $63 from $67 (versus a $67.63 close) at Credit Suisse. Gilead had a $78.29 consensus target price ahead of the cut, and its shares were indicated down almost 1% at $67.00 on Friday morning.

Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and the price objective was lowered to $13 from $16 at Merrill Lynch.

MPLX L.P. (NYSE: MPLX) was started with a Hold rating and $28 target price (versus a $25.23 close) at SunTrust.

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE) was reiterated as Buy with a $245 price target (versus a $233.90 close) at Mizuho.

Oil States International Inc. (NYSE: OIS) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral with a $12 target price (versus a $17.61 close) at JPMorgan.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) closed up 0.3% at $56.47 on Thursday and was last seen trading down 2.4% at $55.15 after earnings. Wedbush reiterated it as Neutral with a $56 target price. Barclays maintained its Equal Weight rating but trimmed its target price to $60 from $61.

Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral with a $6 target price (versus a $10.38 close) at JPMorgan.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that 2020 should be another strong year for the homebuilders. Shares most recently closed at $39.63 and have a consensus price target of $41.36.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR) was started as Hold with a $68 price target (versus a $66.43 close) at Stifel.

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $175 from $160 at Janney. Shares closed down about 1% at $100.47 on Thursday, but they were indicated up over 31% at $132.00 after the FDA approved its muscular dystrophy drug.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $20 target price (versus a $14.45 close) at JMP Securities.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC) was started with an Equal Weight rating and an $80 target price (versus a $77.05 close) at Barclays.

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) was started with a Hold rating and $96 target price (versus an $88.75 close) at SunTrust.

Several legacy technology players may be the best technology stock picks for 2020.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Autodesk, Bausch Health, Charles Schwab, Darden Restaurants, Garmin, GE, Home Depot, Kroger, Merit Medical, Starbucks and many more.

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