Investing

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

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.

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