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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AGNC, Amazon, Amgen, Coca-Cola, Danaher, EA, IBM, Miragen, Proofpoint, Sprint, UPS, Uber, Vertex, Visa and More
January 31, 2020 9:05 am
Last Updated: January 31, 2020 9:25 am
Kirby Corp. (NYSE: KEX) closed down 8.3% at $77.71 on Thursday after it missed earnings expectations. Stifel and Jefferies each downgraded it to Hold from Buy. Merrill Lynch downgraded it to Neutral from Buy.
Miragen Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MGEN) was up 20% at $2.04 on Thursday with a 20-times volume spike after positive news of greatly increasing certain cancer survival times. Wedbush sent out a note shortly before Thursday’s closing bell with a $1.96 reference price, maintaining its Outperform rating and raising its target to $10 from $8 in the call. The 52-week trading range is $0.44 to $3.80, and the market cap was just $70 million late on Thursday. Shares were indicated down 4% at $1.96 on Friday morning.
National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: FIZZ) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this company has become a victim of its own success. Shares last closed at $44.01 and have a consensus price target of $46.50.
Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its target price was lowered to $55 from $60 (versus a $48.86 close) at Goldman Sachs. The stock is down from a 52-week high of $62.31, and its consensus target price was $56.92.
Proofpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: PFPT) closed down 1.6% at $125.89 ahead of earnings, with a $142.04 consensus target price. Citigroup reiterated it as Buy and raised its target to $153 from $143. Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and $150 target price.
ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, but its target price was raised to $175 from $150. It closed down 0.2% at $165.44 on Thursday, with a $147.75 consensus target price.
Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight and the target price was lowered to $600 from $650 (versus a $568.90 close) at Wells Fargo. UBS reiterated its Neutral rating and raised its target price to $580 from $570. Shares closed down 3.6% on Thursday, with a consensus target price of $620.81.
Smartsheet Inc. (NYSE: SMAR) closed up 3.4% at $49.08 with a $52.31 consensus target price of Thursday. BMO Capital Markets started it as Outperform with a $57 target price.
Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) was reiterated as Neutral but the target price was lowered to $5.50 from $8.00 (versus a $4.46 close) at Citigroup.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) was down 4.2% at $319.86 on Thursday’s post-earnings reaction with a $348.35 consensus target price. Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price to $390 from $380, with the firm noting that Thursday’s sell-off brought a buying opportunity as the report was solid outside of excessive upside expectations.
Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) was started as Overweight with a $51 target price at JPMorgan. Uber was down 0.8% at $36.68 on Thursday and was indicated up 0.8% at $37.00 on Friday, with a prior consensus target price of $44.83.
United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) was down 6.7% at $108.00 on Thursday, with a $125.21 consensus target price. Raymond James maintained it as Strong Buy and lowered its target price to $135 from $140. UBS also reiterated its Buy rating but the firm trimmed its target price to $130 from $134.
Valley National Bancorp. (NYSE: VLY) was reiterated as Neutral with an $11 target price (versus a $10.65 close) at Wedbush.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird, but the firm raised its target price to $230 from $210. Shares closed down 0.9% at $230.21 ahead of earnings and were trading up about 3.8% at $239.00 Friday morning.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was trading up over 1.6% at $208.21 ahead of earnings, and the post-earnings indication was down 2.5% at $202.90 Friday morning. Wedbush reiterated it as Outperform with a $215 target price (versus a $208.21 close).
Vivint Smart Home Inc. (NYSE: VVNT) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, just four days after the firm started it with a $15 target price. In that short time, shares have risen from under $12 to over $19, but the stock was down 7.2% at $18.00 Friday morning.
With gold trading at multiyear highs, Merrill Lynch has five gold and precious metals stocks that appear to have significant upside.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Apple, AT&T, Biogen, Carnival, CSX, Dow, Facebook, McDonald’s, Microsoft and Tesla.
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