Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Allstate, AT&T, ADP, Baker Hughes, Carvana, CenturyLink, Cree, Intelsat, Mastercard, Vale, Visa, Zoom and More

Investing

Published: April 1, 2020 9:05 am

Last Updated: April 1, 2020 9:14 am

Stocks closed more than 1.5% lower on Tuesday, and Wednesday’s opening indications called for a drop of more than 3% on the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500. Many investors are now looking for direction, given all the recent volatility. The big bull market turned into a roaring bear market in less than a month, and the Dow looks set to have given back 1,000 points of its recovery in just two trading sessions. Most of the bad recession data in the formal economic reports has not been seen yet.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some of the daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other analyst reports cover stocks to sell or avoid. Many analysts have been handily lowering their target prices to deal with a new recessionary environment, but there are still many traditional upgrades and reiterations, as if the economy hasn’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 Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) was maintained as Buy and the price target was lowered to $115 from $135 (versus a $91.73 prior close) at CFRA.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE: ABC) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) was raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.

Baker Hughes Co. (NYSE: BKR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus. Shares closed down 4.2% at $10.50 ahead of this call, with a consensus target price of $21.42.

Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) was maintained as Buy but the target price was lowered to $75 from $110 (versus a $55.09 close) at Needham.

CenterPoint Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its price target was lowered to $17 from $27 (versus a $15.45 close) at UBS.

CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral and its price target was lowered to $7 from $14 (versus a $9.46 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) was raised to Neutral from Sell but the target price was lowered to $37 from $40 (versus a $49.18 close) at Piper Sandler.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that weak guidance and coronavirus-related panic has battered this retail stock. Shares last closed at $16.99 and have a consensus price target of $35.71.

Denny’s Corp. (NASDAQ: DENN) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) was raised to Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral but the price target was cut to $44 from $56 (versus a $34.00 close) at Wedbush Securities.

El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LOCO) was raised to Buy from Hold at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $50 price target (versus a $35.24 close) at Wells Fargo.