Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: ANGI, Carnival, Chegg, Clorox, Crocs, Dish, Etsy, Intercept, Micron, Okta, Seattle Genetics, Spotify, Square, 2U and More

Stocks closed sharply higher on Monday but were giving back some profits Tuesday morning. With an election coming up, and with a deep recession and rising COVID-19 cases, investors need to be considering how they want their assets positioned heading into the second half 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 last drive of the gains is that many analyst calls have included upgrades and price target hikes, but often stocks are managing to move 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 Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

ANGI Homeservices Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $15 from $10 (versus an $11.85 prior close) at Citigroup.

Applied Molecular Transport Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTI) was started as Buy with a $38 price target at Jefferies, and BofA Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $34 price objective. Shares closed down 1.3% at $25.80 ahead of these calls.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) was maintained as Outperform with a $1,300 price target, but it also was removed from the Best Ideas List at Wedbush Securities, with the firm noting that the near-term strength the company has been experiencing is likely to fade as car sales recover and as the stimulus and benefits run out or get downsized.

Avadel Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: AVDL) was started as Buy with a $15 price target (versus a $7.94 close) at H.C. Wainwright.

BioNTech S.E. (NASDAQ: BNTX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at HC Wainwright.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that if bars and restaurants are closing again, it must be even worse for cruise liners. Shares last closed at $16.78 and have a consensus price target of $16.39.

Chegg Inc. (NYSE: CHGG) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. KeyBanc Capital Markets started it as Overweight with an $80 target price. The stock closed up 2% at $66.73 on Monday, with a $64.42 consensus price target.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) was started with a Buy rating and a $256 price target (versus a $217.58 close) at D.A. Davidson.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was raised to Buy from Hold and its target price was raised to $40 from $22 (versus a $35.07 close) at Loop Capital. Shares closed up 6.6% at $35.07 on Monday, with a $31.78 consensus target price.

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $39 from $35 (versus a $33.05 close) at Citigroup.

Energy Recovery Inc. (NASDAQ: ERII) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley FBR. The stock was up 6.6% to $8.91 on Monday and was indicated down over 13% at $7.70 on Tuesday morning after earnings and after exiting a licensing agreement with Schlumberger.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $115 from $90 (versus a $102.89 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

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