Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apache, Apple, CME, Devon, Diamondback, Gilead, Hexo, MarketAxess, Microchip Tech, Zoom and More

Investing

Published: June 3, 2020 9:05 am

Last Updated: June 3, 2020 9:23 am

Stocks somehow keep managing to discount every bit of bad news that is thrown at the economy. Bad economic numbers, civil unrest and weak earnings all are being deemed temporary as the economy was reopening for business. Wednesday’s indications were for futures to open up less than 1%, and the Dow Jones industrial average is getting close to 26,000 and the S&P 500 is approaching 3,100 again.

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

Now that stocks have recovered so much, it seems that the analyst calls with lower and lower price targets have ended. In many cases, analysts are raising their outlooks and targets, even if they have cautious macro views or earnings caution. Some calls are praising growth over value, and others are focused on base economy stocks that already have begun recovering.

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

These are the top analyst calls we have seen on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) was maintained as Equal Weight at Barclays, but the firm’s price target was raised to $13 from $8. Shares closed up over 4% at $12.23, with a $12.17 consensus price target.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $340 from $326 (versus a $323.34 prior close) at Morgan Stanley. Apple had a $314.55 consensus target price.

Brinks Co. (NYSE: BCO) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that a combination of a drop in cash transactions and poor planning spell trouble for this armored transport company. Shares last closed at $42.38, with a consensus price target of $77.00.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was reiterated as Sell and its price target was cut to $152 from $153 at Rosenblatt. Shares closed down almost 2% at $178.78 ahead of the call, with a $195.65 consensus target price.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $133 from $117 (versus a $107.03 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $120 from $95 at SunTrust. Barclays reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $114 from $100. The stock was down 2.7% at $92.25 ahead of earnings but was indicated up 10% at $101.50 on Wednesday morning.

Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE: DECK) was started as Outperform and a $220 price target (versus a $203.97 close) at Cowen.

Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $13 from $11 at Barclays. Shares closed up almost 4% at $12.16 on Tuesday, with a $14.54 consensus target price.

Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $54 from $34 at Barclays. The stock closed up over 4% at $45.61 on Tuesday, and it had a $54.41 consensus target price.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at SVB Leerink, which talked up potential revenues from remdesivir that is expected to sell for $5,000 or so per course of treatment. Shares were down 2.5% at $73.26 on Tuesday and were indicated up over 1% at $74.15 ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell. The consensus target price is $80.25.