The futures traded solidly lower Friday morning as investors digest the stunning announcement that U.S. president and the First Lady both tested positive for the coronavirus. This came on the heels of what may have been the first positive week in some time, after September posted the first down month since March. With first-time unemployment claims dropping again on Thursday, and the economy adding 661,000 jobs back in September, investors are probably glad October is finally here.
Many investors missed out on the recovery from late in March. Now many of the key leadership stocks are down significantly from their highs. With a tense election and a slowing recovery, this is the time for investors to be looking at new ideas in a period of zero interest rates.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday, October 2, 2020.
Allegiance Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: ABTX) was started with a Neutral rating at Janney. The 52-week trading range for the bank is $20.88 to $38.95, and the consensus pierce target is at $28.67. The last print Thursday came in at $23.59.
American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at BofA Securities, which also raised the target price to $16. The Wall Street consensus target is $14.88, but shares closed Thursday at $14.92.
Agree Realty Corp. (NYSE: ADC) was resumed in coverage at Raymond James with a Strong Buy rating and an $82 price target. The consensus target is $76, and shares closed at $64.51.
Carvana Inc. (NASDAQ: CVNA) was raised to Equal Weight with a $215 price target from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. The consensus target price is $199.50. Shares closed Thursday at $238.10 and were slightly lower in Friday’s premarket.
Fortress Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: FBIO) was started with a Buy rating with a $9 price target at Benchmark. The slightly higher consensus target is $9.80. The stock closed at $4.03 on Thursday.
ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim. The company is focused on the development of antibody-drug conjugate therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Its 52-week trading range is $1.85 to $3.07, and the consensus price target is $6.96. The shares closed Thursday at $3.70.
General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird, which also lowered the price target to $149. The consensus target is $168.26. The shares were last seen trading at $138.22.
GoHealth Inc. (NASDAQ: GOCO) had a recent initial public offering, and Raymond James started it with an Outperform rating and an $18 price objective. The consensus target is set at $23.11, and Thursday’s closing price was $13.72. Shares were higher in Friday’s premarket.
Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was started with a Market Perform rating and a $14 price target at BMO Capital Markets. That compares to a $15.75 consensus target and Thursday’s close at $11.17 a share.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) was started with a Market Perform rating and a $459 target at Bernstein. The consensus target for the healthcare giant is $449.13. The stock was last seen trading at $415.36.
Medpace Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MEDP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Truist, which also set a $135 price objective. The consensus target price is $119.20. The stock was last seen at $114.16 a share.
Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: MLAB) was started with a Neutral rating and a $260 price objective at JPMorgan. The consensus target is $263.67, and the stock closed at $258.40. Near the 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.
Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) was started with a Buy rating and a $110 price target at Loop Capital. The consensus target for the pizza giant is $106.21. The stock closed at $83.33.
Select Energy Services Inc. (NYSE: WTTR) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. The 52-week trading range is $2.22 to $9.68, and the consensus pierce target is $6.41. Shares ended Thursday at $3.91 apiece.
Snowflake Inc. (NASDAQ: SNOW) was started with a Market Perform and a $270 price target at Bernstein. The $175 consensus target is much lower, and Thursday’s closing price was $243.46. Shares were down almost 5% in premarket action.
Spirit Airlines Inc. (NYSE: SAVE) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that even though the airline industry’s outlook is slowly improving, investors might want to wait for stronger signs of a comeback. The stock last closed at $16.38, with a consensus price target of $18.46.
Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was raised to Outperform from In-line at Evercore ISI. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $93.92 to $225.89. The consensus price target for the big data giant is $230.037, and shares ended Thursday trading at $192.56.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was raised to Buy from Hold at DZ Bank, which also set a $157.50 price target. The consensus target is $146.09, and shares closed Thursday at $143.08.
Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) was raised to Buy with a $275 price objective from Hold at Stifel. The consensus target for the tech giant is $241.31, and a Thursday’s closing price was $220.52.
Yeti Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YETI) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this high-end cooler firm that has expanded its portfolio to more everyday items. Shares most recently closed at $46.53 and have a consensus price target of $56.50.
24/7 Wall St.Jefferies has added Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) to its Franchise Picks list of top stock ideas, and it has four other conservative picks for investors to consider now.
Seven green tech companies are expected to enter the public equity markets by means of a reverse merger by the end of the year.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alibaba, BlackRock, Devon Energy, Domino’s Pizza, DraftKings, Duke Energy, Enphase Energy, Snowflake, Valero Energy and Zillow.
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