Investing
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amazon, Boeing, Broadcom, Cisco, IBM, Netflix, Rio Tinto, Tesla, Verizon, Visa, Xerox and More
Published:
Last Updated:
Stocks have been hitting all-time highs, and Tuesday’s sell-off from the coronavirus impact and fears from China felt more like a major excuse profit-taking than systemic fear. Stocks were also indicated to open a tad higher on Wednesday.
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 Wednesday, January 22, 2020.
Aimmune Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AIMT) was reiterated as Outperform with a $79 target price (versus a $33.08 prior close) at Wedbush Securities, with the firm noting that the Palforzia peanut allergy treatment is likely to hit the United States and European Union in 2020.
Allergan PLC (NYSE: AGN) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) closed up 1.5% at $1,892.00 on Tuesday and was indicated marginally higher on Wednesday. Pivotal Research reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $2,250 from $2,100. Amazon had a $2,177.93 consensus target price, but it was among the 10 tech leaders seeing waves of recent target price hikes.
Aqua America Inc. (NYSE: WTR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
Arconic Inc. (NYSE: ARNC) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Longbow Research.
ArTara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TARA) was started with a Buy rating and a $45 target price (versus a $28.34 close) at Ladenburg Thalmann.
Aspen Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ASPU) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the swing from losses to profits often brings in a lot of new investors and this is just what is expected for this stock. Shares most recently closed at $8.36, with a consensus price target of $11.00.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was down 3.3% to $313.27 on Tuesday, and its shares hit a 52-week low of $305.75 on news that it now doesn’t see a return of the 737 Max until mid-2020. Vertical Research downgraded Boeing to Hold from Buy, with the firm lowering its target price to $294 from $388 and predicting a disastrous quarterly earnings report. Credit Suisse maintained its Neutral rating and trimmed its target price to $321 from $324.
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was reiterated as Buy with a $360 target price at New Street Research. Shares closed down 0.2% at $308.07 ahead of the call, and the consensus target price is $349.93.
Carpenter Technology Corp. (NYSE: CRS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that a recent miss has analysts pulling future earnings estimates down and this has hurt the valuation as well. Shares last closed at $43.98 and have a consensus price target of $56.00.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was reiterated as Overweight and its target price was raised to $54 from $52 (versus a $48.80 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. Cisco has a consensus target price of $52.22, and its 52-week range is $43.40 to $58.26.
Citizens Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: CFG) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $44 from $42 (versus a $40.09 close) at Argus.
Coca-Cola FEMSA SAB de C.V. (NYSE: KOF) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) closed down 3.5% at $66.31 on Monday’s post-earnings reaction. Citigroup raised it to Neutral from Sell with a $70 target price.
CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE) was started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: EIGR) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $31 from $28 (versus a $14.18 close) at Ladenburg Thalmann.
Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) closed at $89.80, and Janney downgraded it to Neutral from Buy now that it hit the firm’s $88 fair value estimate.
Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE: EXR) was started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) closed up 0.6% at $139.17 ahead of earnings, but Big Blue shares were up 4% at $144.65 in Wednesday’s early post-earnings reaction after a surprise revenue gain. Wedbush maintained a Neutral rating and $155 target price, and it said the report was a low-quality “beat and raise” quarter as bookings continue to show more share loss as services revenues looked below expectations. Citigroup maintained its Neutral rating and raised its target to $155 from $140. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating on IBM.
Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $375 from $317 (versus a $321.93 close) at Citigroup. It had a consensus target price of $334.85, and its 52-week high was seen at $325.66 just a day earlier.
NeoPhotonics Corp. (NASDAQ: NPTN) was raised to Buy from Hold at Needham, and the target price of $11 compared with an $8.58 prior close and an $8.43 prior consensus target price.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) closed down about 0.5% at $338.11 ahead of earnings, but the stock was indicated up almost 2% at $344.00 after earnings, with the company showing it can still grow subscribers with stronger content releases even among competitive threats that may take some customers. Wedbush maintained Netflix as Underperform and lowered the target price to $173 from $188. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating, and Deutsche Bank reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price to $400 from $395.
Rio Tinto Group PLC (NYSE: RIO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE: SQM) closed down 2.8% at $29.84 in New York trading on Tuesday. HSBC downgraded it to Reduce from Hold with a $25 target price, and its American depositary shares were indicated down almost 1% at $29.60 on Wednesday.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) became the first car company (or is it a tech company?) to hit $100 billion in market cap after closing up 7.2% at $547.20. And its shares were indicated up another 4% at $571.50 on Wednesday morning. Wedbush maintained it as Neutral but raised the target price to $550 from $370.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) was started as Hold with a $63 target price (versus a $60.32 close) at Deutsche Bank.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $235 from $209 (versus a $207.29 close) at Citigroup. Visa had a consensus target price of $214.82, and its 52-week high was seen at $208.39 just on Tuesday.
Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) was reiterated as Hold at Argus, with the firm still cutting estimates based on its joint venture disposition.
Zions Bancorp. N.A. (NASDAQ: ZION) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
Ten tech leaders are seeing major analyst upgrades and target hikes ahead of earnings for upside in 2020.
Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Alibaba, AIG, Baidu, Broadcom, Costco, Intel, Ping, Pinterest, RingCentral, Shopify, Uber and many more.
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.