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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AMD, Caterpillar, Corning, DexCom, Enphase, First Solar, Invesco, 3M, Microsoft, Pfizer, Wynn and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: October 28, 2020 8:56 am

Last Updated: October 28, 2020 9:55 am

Stocks have been sliding into earnings, as the election approaches and with more civil unrest in the news. Ahead of the election, many investors are looking for new ideas about how to be positioned heading into 2021.

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 Wednesday, October 28, 2020.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) was reiterated as Outperform with a $100 target price at Wedbush Securities. Barclays reiterated AMD as Overweight and raised its price target to $100 from $85.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) was started with a Neutral rating and a $133 price target at UBS.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was maintained as Underweight but its target price was raised to $122 from $120 (versus a $157.91 prior close) at Morgan Stanley. The stock was down 3.2% at $157.91 a share on Tuesday and was indicated down 2.2% more at $154.30 on Wednesday. Its consensus target price was $150.18.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) was maintained as Equal Weight but its price target was raised to $32 from $28 at Morgan Stanley. The stock closed down 4% at $32.85, and it had a $32.83 consensus price target.

DexCom Inc. (NASDAQ: DXCM) was down about 9% at $380.63 per share on Tuesday and was indicated down less than 1% on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal Weight rating but cut its price target to $398 from $428.

Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) was maintained as Overweight but its target price was cut to $170 from $176 at Morgan Stanley. The stock closed down 6.9% at $131.90 a share on Tuesday, and it was indicated down almost 1% at $130.75 on Wednesday. The consensus target price was $165.07.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $118 from $77 at Needham. The stock closed down almost 5% at $98.63 ahead of earnings, and it was indicated up 1.3% at $99.90 on Wednesday. Its consensus target price was $80.07.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight with a $86 target price at Barclays. Shares closed down 1.6% at $82.39 on Tuesday, and the stock was up almost 11% at $91.10 a share on Wednesday morning. Ahead of earnings, the consensus target price was $69.81.

24/7 Wall St.
BofA Securities Top 10 US Stock Ideas for the Rest of 2021

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform and its target price was raised to $16.50 from $15.00 at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. It closed up 1.3% at $13.97 a share ahead of the call and has a $12.20 consensus target price.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was up 1.5% at $213.25 ahead of earnings but was indicated down 2.3% at $208.35 afterward. Wedbush Securities reiterated it as Outperform with a $260 price target. Morgan Stanley reiterated it as Overweight and raised its price target to $249 from $245, and Piper Sandler reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target price from $218 to $245.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its target price was raised to $200 from $170 (versus a $133.23 prior close) at Needham. It had a $147.96 consensus price target.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was reiterated as Market Perform and its price target was raised to $43 from $42 at SVB Leerink. The stock closed down 1.3% at $37.43 on Tuesday and was indicated down another 1.5% at $36.90 a share on Wednesday. The prior consensus price target was $41.33.

Shutterstock Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) was reiterated as Market Outperform and its target price was raised to $85 from $72 at JMP Securities. The stock closed up 11.8% at $69.63 ahead of the call, and it has a $62.67 consensus target price.

Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its target price was raised to $740 from $700 at JPMorgan.

Tempur Sealy International Inc. (NYSE: TPX) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said shares have skyrocketed roughly 150% since the market’s March lows to double its industry’s average climb. Shares most recently closed at $87.82 and have a consensus price target of $114.38.

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) was reiterated as Equal Weight and its price target was raised to $176 from $173 (versus a $161.03 prior close, after a 3.1% drop) at Morgan Stanley.

Varian Medical Systems Inc. (NYSE: VAR) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this company has fallen victim to circumstances that are completely out of its control. Shares last closed at $71.83 and have a consensus price target of $95.56.

The portfolio team for the BofA Top Ten Ideas has had a stellar year, and the third-quarter results also came in very strong. Eight long ideas are featured, as well as two stocks that are rated Underperform and could work as potential short sales for aggressive investors.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon.com, Amgen, Biogen, Hasbro, Kinder Morgan, SAP, Spotify and Twitter.