Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Biogen, CryoLife, Honeywell, Microsoft, Ping, Qualcomm, Verizon, Wendy's and More

Jon C. Ogg

Published: November 5, 2020 8:55 am

Last Updated: November 5, 2020 10:08 am

Stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday in an election relief, although the outcome is not yet known and may take some time to be determined. Stocks were indicated to open up handily higher on Thursday, despite the uncertainty. Many investors missed out on the recovery from March’s panic selling. With the election still undecided and many issues still facing America, investors now have to be considering new ideas for 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 Thursday, November 5, 2020.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) was reiterated as Buy and its price objective was raised to $149 from $147 at BofA Securities.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) closed up almost 44% at $355.63 after the FDA posted its notes ahead of this week’s advisory committee, which is set to discuss its Alzheimer’s drug. BofA Securities upgraded it to Neutral from Underperform and raised its price objective to $360 from $230. BMO Capital Markets reiterated its Market Perform rating but raised its price target from $280 to $343.

CECO Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ: CECO) was maintained as Buy but its price target was cut to $9 from $10 at Needham. The stock closed down 8.14% at $6.21 a share on Wednesday, and it has a $9.25 consensus price target.

Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) was raised to Buy from Neutral with an $80 price target at UBS. The stock closed up almost 10% at $61.00 per share ahead of the call, and it has a $71.89 consensus target price. Also, Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price to $75 from $72.

CryoLife Inc. (NYSE: CRY) was maintained as Buy but its price target was cut to $28 from $29 at Needham. The stock closed down 0.7% at $18.29 a share on Wednesday, and it has a $27.88 consensus price target.

Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Loop Capital. Morgan Stanley reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its price target to $145 from $135.

Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $88 from $78 at Needham. The stock closed up 2.5% at $73.75 per share ahead of the call. The consensus target price is $78.21.

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) was reiterated as Buy and its price objective was raised to $210 from $180 at BofA Securities. The shares closed down 0.17% at $178.91 apiece, and they had a $179.79 consensus price target ahead of the call.

Marcus Corp. (NYSE: MCS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that in a pandemic world, movie theaters and hotels are not a winning combination. The shares last closed at $7.75, and they have a consensus price target of $20.00.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was raised to Outperform from Perform with a $260 price target at Oppenheimer. Microsoft closed up 4.8% at $216.39 a share on Wednesday, with a $239.54 consensus target price, and its shares were indicated up more than 2% at $222.00 ahead of Thursday’s open.

Ping Identity Holding Corp. (NYSE: PING) closed up 2% at $27.94 ahead of earnings but was last seen down 14% at $24.00 after the report. BofA Securities maintained its Buy rating but cut its price objective to $32 from $36. Piper Sandler downgraded it to Neutral from Overweight.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was up 2.8% at $128.97 ahead of earnings and was last seen up 14.3% at $147.42 afterward. BofA Securities reiterated the stock as a Buy and raised its price target to $180 from $165. Rosenblatt reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price from $130 to $155.

Sleep Number Corp. (NASDAQ: SNBR) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said the company has been hitting the mark on earnings expectations. The shares most recently closed at $65.02, and the stock has a consensus price target of $53.25.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $65 target price at JPMorgan.

Vulcan Materials Co. (NYSE: VMI) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral and its price objective was raised to $26 from $24 at BofA Securities. Stephens maintained it as Overweight but cut its price target from $27 to $26.

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZI) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $50 target price (versus a $38.92 prior close) at RBC Capital Markets.

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Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, AGCO, Alibaba, Baidu, Honeywell, L3Harris Technologies, Mosaic, Peloton Interactive and Teradyne.