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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alphabet, AMD, Corning, FireEye, Inovia, Lululemon, Nike, Roku, Starbucks, Tyson, Walmart and More

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Stocks have managed to keep climbing from the panic-selling lows of March, and Wednesday was yet another positive day despite a −4.8% gross domestic product reported for the first quarter. Many investors were caught off guard after the major snapback rally that started in late March. Investors now ought to be considering new ideas, given that the major equity indexes have recouped so much of their losses.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find some of those new ideas for long-term investors and short-term traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and others cover stocks to sell or avoid. Consensus analyst target prices are from Refinitiv.

Analysts are still making many upgrades, downgrades, reiterations and initiations ahead of and after key earnings reports. While some are still cutting price targets and earnings estimates for the coming quarters and the year, many are maintaining their prior official ratings. There are even many traditional upgrades and reiterations taking place as though things were close to normal. Remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Here are the top analyst calls tracked from Wednesday, April 29, 2020.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) was down 1.7% at $55.51 ahead of earnings and was indicated down 2.3% at $54.22 afterward. Rosenblatt reiterated it as Buy and raised its price target to $70 from $65. Wedbush Securities reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $60 from $57.

Akamai Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $107 price target at Morgan Stanley. Shares closed down 1.1% at $101.93 ahead of earnings and were indicated down 4.4% at $97.40 afterward.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was down 3% at $1,232.59 ahead of earnings and up 7% at $1,319.75 afterward. Morgan Stanley reiterated it as Overweight and raised its price target to $1,400 from $1,300. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $1,600 from $1,500, and Nomura/Instinet reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $1,700 from $1,680. JPMorgan reiterated Alphabet as Overweight and raised its price target to $1,500 from $1,340. And Wedbush reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $1,375 from $1,550.

Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities.

Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) was maintained as Buy but the price target was cut to $22 from $42 (versus a $16.87 prior close) at Deutsche Bank. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey maintained its Buy rating as well.

Cincinnati Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CINF) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays. It closed up 2.35 at $22.14 on Tuesday, with a $23.96 consensus price target.

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this company expects double-digit earnings growth in 2020. Shares most recently closed at $157.30, with a consensus price target of $156.00.

FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) was down almost 1% at $11.42 ahead of earnings and was down another 3% at $11.06 afterward. Wedbush reiterated its Neutral rating. SunTrust reiterated it as Buy with a $15 price target.

Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $9.00 from $7.50 (versus a $7.74 close) at Wedbush.

Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler.

Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ: INCY) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.


Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INO) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $17 from $13 at H.C. Wainwright. The stock was indicated up over 6% at $14.62 after announcing promising MERS data that could set the stage for a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $28 price target (versus a $23.94 close) at Goldman Sachs. The prior consensus price target was $22.99. Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $27 from $24.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was started with a Buy rating and a $260 price target at BTIG. Shares closed down 1% at $224.47, with a $228.90 consensus price target.

Model N Inc. (NYSE: MODN) was started with a Buy rating at SunTrust. Shares closed up 1.67% at $26.85 ahead of the call, with a $32.29 consensus price target.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was started with a Buy rating and a $108 price target at BTIG. Nike closed down 0.6% at $88.80, with a $93.69 consensus price target.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that apparel retail is one of the toughest businesses in 2020. Shares last closed at $50.62 and have a consensus price target of $51.63.

RealPage Inc. (NASDAQ: RP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $66 price target at D.A. Davidson.

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral but the price target was raised to $173 from $155 at Rosenblatt.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) was started with a Buy rating and a $153 price target at Benchmark. Shares closed down 7.2% at $119.36 ahead of the call, with a $126.90 prior consensus price target.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was up 1.2% at $78.69 ahead of earnings and traded down 1.6% at $77.40 afterward. Morgan Stanley maintained it as Equal Weight but raised its price target to $76 from $70. Wedbush maintained its Neutral rating but raised its price target to $75 from $71. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its price target to $82 from $80.

Turtle Beach Corp. (NASDAQ: HEAR) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and its price target was lowered to $66 from $100 at Piper Sandler.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) was started with a Sell rating and a $5 price target (versus a $10.83 close) at BTIG. The stock was indicated up over 2% on Wednesday, with a $12.29 consensus price target.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at Gordon Haskett.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AT&T, Cognex, Johnson & Johnson, Keurig Dr Pepper, PayPal, Roku, Shopify, Square, Valero Energy, Walt Disney and more.

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