24/7 Wall St.

Stocks have been hitting all-time highs, even after the phase-one trade pact with China was signed. Tuesday’s return after the Martin Luther King extended weekend was seeing profit-taking ahead of the opening bell, and the International Monetary Fund lowered its 2020 global growth forecast to 3.3% from 3.4% but also noted more stabilization around trade pacts.

Many investors still have not made portfolio changes during and after a very strong market in 2019. The markets are treating a risk-on trade as being better than sell-the-news at this time, despite being in overbought territory heading into earnings season. This is also an election year in which much is at stake, and strategists are by and large calling for single-digit percentage gains in 2020.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding 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 analyst calls in a quick-hit summary for easy reading, and additional comments and trading data have been added on many 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 from Tuesday, January 21, 2020.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $60 from $47 (versus a $50.93 prior close) at Cowen, with the firm noting that it will face higher growth and is better positioned in is competition against Intel for processors.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $260 from $245 (versus a $227.43 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) was started as Buy with a $135 target price (versus a $117.55 close) at Citigroup.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) was started as Neutral at Citigroup.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $160 from $155 at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $54 target price (versus a $46.18 close) at Credit Suisse.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $366 from $361 (versus a $308.79 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The call suggests that the buying catalyst is long-term dividend growth and that it has underperformed against peer with great relative value.

Centennial Resource Development Inc. (NASDAQ: CDEV) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Chubb Ltd. (NYSE: CB) was started as Neutral at Citigroup.

Coeur Mining Inc. (NYSE: CDE) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer, but the firm had downgraded the stock back in September, noting at the time that investors had gotten too optimistic and that the valuations were at all-time highs.

EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG) was raised to Buy from Hold and the target price was raised to $110 from $80 (versus an $85.31 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

EQT Corp. (NYSE: EQT) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Impinj Inc. (NASDAQ: PI) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $34 from 432 (versus a $31.70 close) at Needham.

Inphi Corp. (NYSE: IPHI) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this firm has crushed its industry’s recent expansion and appears to be a chip stock investors want. Shares most recently closed at $83.11, with a consensus price target of $83.15.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) was raised to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies. While the rating is still not a Buy, the target price was raised to $64 from $40, against a prior consensus target price of $57.25. Intel previously closed at $59.60.

iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that shares have tumbled 40% in the past six months and follows narrowing guidance. Shares last closed at $54.82 and have a consensus price target of $53.33.

J.B. Hunt Transportation Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) was down 4.2% at $114.68 after Friday’s post-earnings reaction. Stephens maintained its Overweight rating but lowered its target to $131 from $133, and Credit Suisse reiterated its Neutral rating while lowering its target to $110 from $113.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: KNSA) was reiterated as Outperform with a $30 target price (versus a $15.45 close) at Wedbush Securities, with the firm calling on multiple catalysts that could drive the shares higher in 2020.

MacroGenics Inc. (NASDAQ: MGNX) was reiterated as Outperform with a $16 target price (versus an $11.26 close) at Wedbush, with the call being ahead of it migrating to a commercial-stage company in 2020.

MGP Ingredients Inc. (NASDAQ: MGPI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) was reiterated as Outperform and the target price was raised to $27 from $24 (versus a $19.73 close) at Wedbush.

Ping Identity Holding Corp. (NYSE: PING) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, but the firm did raise its target price to $27 from $24. Shares closed down 1.5% at $25.65 on Friday, and the consensus target price was $24.68 ahead of this call. The stock was indicated down almost 2% at $25.15 on Tuesday.

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS) was reiterated as Outperform with a $26 target price (versus a $23.00 close) at Wedbush, with the call coming after the firm attended the NRF 2020 Vision conference last week.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target price was raised to $230 from $189 at Goldman Sachs. Shares closed up 1% at $192.89 on Friday and had a consensus target price of $196.06.

Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SBH) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at D.A. Davidson.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $485 from $385 at KeyBanc Capital Markets. Shopify closed at $454.88 on Friday, and its consensus target price was still down at $386.08 ahead of this call.

State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT) was reiterated as Sector Perform but the target price was raised to $85 from $65 (versus an $82.56 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) was started as Neutral at Citigroup.

Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) was reiterated as Buy with a $56 target price (versus a $35.13 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

WPX Energy Inc. (NYSE: WPX) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

There were 10 stocks under $10 in the past few trading days in which analysts have projected massive implied upside to their respective price targets.

Here are five dividend-paying Dow stocks that may hold up better than the broader market in the next market correction.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Adobe, BP, Caterpillar, CSX, Intel, IBM, NextEra Energy, Pinterest, Qualcomm, Snap, Twitter, Western Digital, Yum Brands and many more.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use