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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amex, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Dunkin', L Brands, Lululemon, Moderna, NXP, Seagate, ViacomCBS, Zillow and More

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Stocks were very strong on Friday after a much better jobs report, and the gains were set to continue on Monday. The S&P 500 is now back up over 3,200 and the Dow Jones industrial average is back over 27,000. The investing community has been pivoting beyond the COVID-19 pandemic as the economy opens up, as well as looking past the bad news dominating the media right now, as well as beyond the economic recession and weak earnings.

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.

What has happened in this last drive of the gains is that many analyst calls have had upgrades and price target hikes, but in many cases stocks are managing to move even beyond what the ratings and expectations might have indicated.

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 Monday, June 8, 2020.

Accel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: ACEL) was started with a Hold rating and an $11 price target (versus a $10.78 prior close) at Deutsche Bank. It had an $11.50 consensus target price.

Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a $135 target price (versus a $108.11 close) at Oppenheimer. It had an $89.88 consensus target ahead of this call, and its 52-week range is $67.46 to $143.55.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $117 from $113 (versus a $109.73 close) at Morgan Stanley.

BankUnited Inc. (NYSE: BKU) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its price objective was raised to $30 from $24 (versus a $22.73 close) at BofA Securities.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was started as Buy and a $277 price target at Seaport Global. Boeing closed up almost 11.5% at $205.43 on Friday and was indicated up another 8% at $222.50 on Monday.

Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GOOS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that global luxury retailers are getting hit hard from coronavirus shutdowns. Shares last closed at $25.34 and have a consensus price target of $32.90.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was reiterated as Equal Weight but its price target was raised to $52 from $49 (versus a $49.09 close) at Morgan Stanley. Coca-Cola has a $36.27 to $60.13 trading range over the past 52-weeks, and its consensus target price was $52.00.

Community Healthcare Trust Inc. (NYSE: CHCT) was downgraded to In-Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI.

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $78 target price (versus a $68.38 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: EPRT) was raised to Outperform from In-Line and its price target was set at $20 (versus an $18.01 close) at Evercore ISI.

G-III Apparel Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIII) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $25 from $21 at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Limelight Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $6 price target (versus a $4.70 close) at Raymond James.


Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was reiterated as Hold but its price target was raised to $24 from $197 at Deutsche Bank. MKM Partners reiterated its Buy rating but raised its target to $378 from $230. The stock closed up 0.7% at $319.78 on Friday and was indicated up another 1% at $323.00 on Monday. Its prior consensus target price was $245.67.

Magenta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MGTA) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $15 price target (versus a $9.99 close, after a 7.5% gain) at Goldman Sachs. The shares had a $19.67 consensus target price ahead of this call, and they were indicated up 5% at $10.50 ahead of the opening bell on Monday.

Medpace Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MEDP) was raised to Neutral from Underperform with an $83 price target (versus an $88.47 close) at Robert W. Baird.

Michaels Companies Inc. (NYSE: MIK) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $13 price target (versus a $5.51 prior close) at JPMorgan. Shares were indicated up 30% at $7.20 on Monday, despite last week’s miss on earnings.

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) was started as Overweight and a $68 target price (versus a $58.19 close) at Barclays. It had an $88.70 consensus target price, and its 52-week range is $11.54 to $87.00.

Murphy Oil Corp. (NYSE: MUR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at MKM Partners.

NortonLifeLock Inc. (NASDAQ: NLOK) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $25 price target (versus a $21.05 close) at Robert W. Baird.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was raised to Outperform from In-Line with a $140 price target (versus a $113.82 close) at Evercore ISI.

Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ: PDD) was started as Outperform with an $89 price target (versus a $69.70 close) at Bernstein.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo.

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) was started with a Buy rating and a $65 price target (versus a $54.39 close) at Rosenblatt.

Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SLGN) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this container company actually raised its full-year earnings guidance during the pandemic. Shares most recently closed at $33.84, with a consensus price target of $35.11.

ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $45 from $42 (versus a $24.82 close) at Imperial Capital.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) was started as Hold with a $53 price target (versus a $48.46 close) at Rosenblatt.

Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) was raised to Buy from Hold with an $80 price target (versus a $59.52 close) at Needham.

Here are 10 charts and graphics that should set the tone for the week of June 8 to June 12.

As Las Vegas has reopened for business, here are four top gaming stocks that could still offer considerable upside.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Anthem, American Electric Power, Apple, Broadcom, DocuSign, eBay, Gap, GameStop, Humana, Immunic, PG&E, Slack Technologies, Sysco and more.

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