Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: American Airlines, Chipotle, Ericsson, Microsoft, Mylan, Novavax, Pfizer, P&G, Qualcomm, Square, Starbucks and More

Investing

Published: March 27, 2020 9:08 am

Last Updated: September 12, 2022 1:38 pm

Stocks have soared in the past three days. Some reports even touted that the markets may not be in bear territory from their peak, but that’s without considering how bad the recessionary data is looking. Friday’s indexes were lower as the rally was the strongest three-day gain since the 1930s. The rally has been prevalent even as jobless claims nearly hit 3.3 million for an exponentially high record, mostly on hopes that the worse the data, the stronger the economic sustainability and rescue package(s) will be ahead.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. The goal is to find new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some of these analyst calls cover stocks to buy and others cover stocks to sell or avoid. Analysts have been handily knocking down their target prices to deal with a new recessionary environment, but we are still seeing many traditional upgrades and reiterations as if things haven’t really been turned upside-down.

Consensus analyst target prices are from Refinitiv. Remember, no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

These are the top analyst calls tracked for Friday, March 27, 2020.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg.

Baker Hughes Co. (NYSE: BKR) was maintained as Outperform but its target price was cut to $19 from $23 (versus a $12.40 prior close, after a 6.7% gain) at RBC Capital Markets.

Brooks Automation Inc. (NASDAQ: BRKS) was reiterated as Buy with a $56 target price (versus a $30.78 close) at Janney, which noted that the company has a very strong balance sheet for life science M&A opportunities in tough times.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was maintained as Overweight and its target price was cut to $790 from $960 (versus a $661.10 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) was maintained as Buy but its target price was cut to $80 from $90 (versus a $52.00 close) at Needham.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was raised to Buy from Hold at both SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Stifel.

Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock yet again. The firm said that Darden is in the direct line of fire from this pandemic. Shares last closed at $60.56 and have a consensus price target of $72.00.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was raised to Neutral from Underweight with a $140 target price at JPMorgan. Deere closed up over 8% at $139.09 and previously had a $179.82 target price.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that while most elective procedures are being deferred, the innovator of minimally-invasive heart valve replacement beats on. Shares most recently closed at $199.44, with a consensus price target of $261.10.

GameStop Inc. (NYSE: GME) was maintained as Neutral with a $4.26 target price (versus a $4.41 close) at Wedbush Securities.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Handler.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) closed down 2% ahead of earnings but was up 5% at $20.00 afterward despite withdrawing guidance, and these shares are down from a year high of $40.51. Wedbush maintained it as Neutral and cut its target price to $24 from $237.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was up 3.7% at $200.80 on Thursday before earnings and was down over 3% at $194.50 after earnings. B. Riley FBR maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target to $210 from $205. RBC Capital Markets reiterated it as Outperform and raised the target price to $225 from $195, while Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $225 from $200.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) was maintained as Overweight and its target price was cut to $200 from $235 (versus a $167.35 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.