Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alphabet, Amazon, Amgen, Cerner, eBay, Gap, Nike, Nucor, P&G, TJX, ViacomCBS and More

Investing

Published: March 30, 2020 9:05 am

Last Updated: March 30, 2020 9:10 am

Stocks recovered handily from their recent lows week despite Friday’s sell-off. Equity futures were negative in the wee hours of Monday, but by 8:30 or so they were up about 0.8% on the S&P 500 and about 0.6% on the Dow Jones industrial average. Many investors are looking for direction with all the recent volatility and since the raging bull market turned into a roaring bear market in just a month. Meanwhile, most of the bad recession data in economic reports has not even been seen yet.

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 other calls 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 Monday, March 30, 2020.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was reiterated as Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $255 target price (versus a $198.27 prior close) at Raymond James.

Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen.

Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that it will take more than U.S. government assistance to get moviegoers back into traditional theatres. Shares last closed at $12.30, with a consensus price target of $26.09.

Designer Brands Inc. (NYSE: DBI) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo.

Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this e-commerce pioneer is positioned extremely well in this environment of upheaval. Shares most recently closed at $30.18 and have a consensus price target of $38.73.

Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (NYSE: FIS) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Franklin Covey Co. (NYSE: FC) was maintained as Buy but its target was cut to $42 from $45 (versus a $15.01 close, after a 13.9% drop) at B. Riley FBR.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HLT) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) was upgraded to Buy from Hold and its target price was raised to $149 from $145 at Jefferies.

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) was maintained as Overweight but its target price was cut to $170 from $212 (versus a $128.71 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

24/7 Wall St.
5 Must-Own Tech Giants to Buy If We Retest the Bottom

Livent Corp. (NYSE: LTHM) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $5 target price (versus a $5.30 close, after a 9.4% drop) at Goldman Sachs.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT) was downgraded to Buy from Strong Buy at Needham.

Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $57 target price (versus a $47.89 close) at Stifel.

Nektar Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: NKTR) was raised to Neutral from Sell and its target price was cut to $20 from $18 at Goldman Sachs.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $99 target price (versus an $83.23 close) at Wells Fargo.

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $386 target price (versus a $312.15 close) at Bernstein.

Nucor Corp. (NY SE: NUE) was raised to Buy from Neutral but the target price was cut to $41 from $55 (versus a $33.36 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Phillips 66 (NY SE: PSX) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform but the target price was lowered to $67 from $73 (versus a $52.32 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform and its target was slashed to $45 from $115 at BMO Capital Markets.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) was raised to Buy from Hold but its target price was lowered to $128 from $130 at Jefferies.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) was raised to Buy from Neutral but the target price was cut to $96 from $119 (versus an $83.42 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with an $85 target price (versus a $75.60 close) at JPMorgan.

Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $110 target price (versus an $82.55 close) at Wells Fargo.

Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $33 target price (versus a $24.80 close) at Wells Fargo.

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $65 target price (versus a $46.80 close) at Wells Fargo.

24/7 Wall St.
In the COVID-19 Economy, Now Is Time to Buy Stock in PepsiCo and Coca-Cola

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $250 target price (versus a $174.45 close, after a 7.6% drop) at Wells Fargo.

Venator Materials PLC (NYSE: VNTR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $2 target price (versus a $1.80 close, after an 11.7% drop) at Goldman Sachs.

ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) was maintained as Buy and the target price was cut to $20 from $50 (versus a $12.79 close, after an 8.6% drop) at Needham.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American Airlines, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Ericsson, Microsoft, Mylan, Novavax, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Qualcomm, Square, Starbucks and many more.

Today’s Top Rated Credit Cards Are Hard to Believe

It’s hard to believe, but today there are credit cards offering up to 6% cash back (you read that right) on some items, $200 statement credits, $0 annual fees, travel rewards, and more. See for yourself, we’ve assembled a list of the top credit cards today right here.

Frankly, with rewards this good we don’t expect them to be available forever. But if you sign up today you can secure some of the best rewards we’ve ever seen. Click here to get started.