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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.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Apple, AT&T, Biogen, Carnival, CSX, Dow, Facebook, McDonald’s, Microsoft and Tesla.