Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Charter, Clorox, FirstEnergy, RingCentral, Roku, Seagate, Take-Two, Zillow and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: August 4, 2020 8:58 am

Last Updated: August 4, 2020 9:07 am

The three major equity indexes were all indicated to open down less than 0.5% on profit-taking on Tuesday morning after strong gains on Monday. With earnings season now mostly complete, investors have some decisions to make about how they want to be positioned ahead of an upcoming election and what is still a very deep recession.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week in an effort to find 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.

Remember that 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, August 4, 2020.

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AJRD) was raised to Outperform and the price target was raised to $54 from $45 (versus a $40.67 prior close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $650 from $550 (versus a $589.70 close) at Raymond James.

Chicos 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 and no brick-and-mortar business is safe. Shares last closed at $1.23 and have a consensus price target of $2.19.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) fell 1.9% to $231.96 after earnings. Morgan Stanley maintained it as Underweight but raised its price target to $197 from $193. D.A. Davidson reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price from $256 to $269.

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) was maintained as Neutral but its price target was lowered to $28.50 from $45 at Mizuho.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this stock is one on the ground floor of hardware innovation and is a critical component of the 4th industrial revolution. Shares most recently closed at $381.41 and have a consensus price target of $395.17.

McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) was raised to Buy from Hold and its price target was raised to $202 from $169 (versus a $159.90 close) at Deutsche Bank.

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Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) was reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $161 from $144 at Cantor Fitzgerald. Wedbush Securities reiterated its Outperform rating but kept its $147 price target. Shares closed at $123.01 on Monday and had a $135.40 consensus price target. H.C. Wainwright reiterated it as Buy and raised its price target to $140 from $131.

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Truist Securities, and Stifel cut its rating to Hold from Buy.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) was raised to Buy from Hold and its price target was raised to $120 from $103 (versus a $101.09 close) at Deutsche Bank.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its price target was raised to $355 from $290 (versus a $305.36 close) at Raymond James.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) was reiterated with a Buy rating and its target price was raised to $190 from $145 at Rosenblatt.

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) was raised to Neutral from Sell and its price target was raised from $41 to $46 (versus a $44.76 close) at UBS. It had a $49.95 consensus target price.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) was indicated up over 4.5% at $175.45 on Tuesday after earnings. KeyBanc reiterated it as Overweight and raised its target to $193 from $172, and Wedbush Securities reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target from $172 to $210. BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Underperform from Neutral.

Varonis Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNS) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $130 from $110 (versus a $106.10 close) at Wedbush.

Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) was raised to Neutral from Negative and its target was raised to $70 from $39 (versus a $67.76 close) at Susquehanna.

In addition, there are seven stocks that hedge funds are loading up on now.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AbbVie, DuPont, Etsy, Expedia, Exxon Mobile, Kansas City Southern, Merck, Microsoft, Pinterest, Qualcomm, Visa, Yum! Brands and more.