Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Ally, Apple, Blackstone, Boeing, CommScope, Facebook, Redfin, SolarEdge, Splunk, Union Pacific and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: June 25, 2020 9:01 am

Last Updated: June 25, 2020 9:10 am

Stocks were trading lower on Thursday after Wednesday’s major sell-off as COVID-19 cases keep rising faster in many states. While the market always looks for reasons for gains or losses, it also had gotten ahead of itself and this was a much needed breather, with almost all sectors lower.

Investors should be considering how they want their assets positioned ahead of the election and for the rest of 2020.

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 past drive of the gains is that many analyst calls have included upgrades and price target hikes, but often 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 Thursday, June 25, 2020.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) was reiterated as Buy with a $29 fair value estimate at Janney, with the firm positive on the lender after it terminated its CardWorks acquisition.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. (NYSE: AMP) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price target was raised to $185 from $125 (versus a $142.96 prior close) at Goldman Sachs.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $425 from $375 at Wedbush Securities, and the firm’s bullish case is now up at $500. Apple is considered to be the best play on the 5G theme, and Wedbush believes a further rerating of the stock is on the horizon.

Blackstone Group Inc. (NYSE: BX) was started as Buy at UBS, with the firm calling out the private equity giant as having strong growth opportunities with robust inflows of capital previously untapped channels to drive its next wave of growth.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $150 price target at Berenberg, but the firm did note that the 737 Max will still have a place in the market even if its role is diminished. Boeing closed down almost 6% at $176.69 ahead of the call, with a $174.80 consensus price target.

Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the retail apocalypse is running rampant amid this global pandemic. Shares last closed at $1.25 and have a consensus price target of $2.19.

CommScope Holding Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: COMM) was maintained as Outperform but its price target was cut to $10 from $12 at Raymond James. Shares closed down 6.6% at $8.51 on Wednesday, with a $12.92 consensus price target.

Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $52 from $45 (versus a $41.90 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Digital Turbine Inc. (NASDAQ: APPS) was started with an Outperform rating and a $14 price target (versus an $11.01 close) at Oppenheimer.

Earthstone Energy Inc. (NYSE: ESTE) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $6 price target (versus a $2.65 close, after a 9.6% drop) at SunTrust.

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Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $300 from $240 (versus a $234.02 close, after a 3.4% drop) at Robert W. Baird. This target matches the street-high target price and is based on the comeback in the digital advertising market.

Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $175 from $154 at Citigroup.

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

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $200 from $196 at Citigroup.

Ooma Inc. (NYSE: OOMA) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this is a great chance to get in on the ground floor of a growing cloud niche before the market realizes its potential. Shares most recently closed at $13.90, with a consensus price target of $19.60.

Patterson Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: PDCO) was raised to Neutral from Sell and the price target was raised to $21 from $11 (versus a $20.03 close) at Goldman Sachs.

PetIQ Inc. (NASDAQ: PETQ) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $44 from $33 (versus a $33.96 close) at Guggenheim.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $120 from $90 (versus a $92.16 close) at SunTrust.

Redfin Corp. (NASDAQ: RDFN) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $48 from $30 (versus a $38.08 close) at SunTrust.

SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral but its target was raised to $126 from $120 (versus a $148.48 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was started with a Buy rating and a $222 price target at Berenberg.

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $195 from $167 at Citigroup.

Varonis Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNS) was started with a Hold rating at Berenberg.

Vivint Solar Inc. (NYSE: VSLR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy but its target price was raised to $10 from $9 (versus a $10.04 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Zedge Inc. (NYSE: ZDGE) was started as Buy with a $3 price target (versus a $1.23 close) at National Securities.

After trading sideways for almost three months gold has broken out of a trading range and may be ready to test the 2011 highs. BofA Securities has six stocks rated Buy that still have strong upside potential.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amazon.com, Aurora Cannabis, Comcast, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Morgan Stanley, Nike, Nio, Plug Power, Snap, Walt Disney and more.