Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Accenture, Boeing, CRISPR, DraftKings, Illumina, Lyft, McDonald's, Southwest, Teladoc and More

Investing

Published: December 7, 2020 8:48 am

Last Updated: December 7, 2020 9:13 am

Stocks closed handily higher on Friday, despite a weak jobs number. Monday’s indexes were indicated lower by almost 0.4% on the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500, as coronavirus cases and economic worries continue to rise and as Brexit is looking messy again. The major indexes are basically at all-time highs, but many investors have missed out on the massive recovery in stocks this year. The financial markets are trying to look beyond the rising COVID-19 cases, with a vaccine becoming more available in early 2021. Investors need to decide how they want to be positioned heading into the new year.

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 Monday, December 7, 2020.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) was downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna. The stock closed up 1.4% at $253.44 a share, and it had a $246.75 consensus target price.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its target price was raised to $300 from $150 at UBS. The stock closed down almost 2% at $232.71 per share and had a $200.04 consensus target price.

Concentrix Corp. (NASDAQ: CNXC) was started with a Buy rating and a $130 price objective (versus a $101.21 prior close) at BofA Securities.

CRISPR Therapeutics A.G. (NASDAQ: CRSP) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo. The shares closed up 5% at $147.54 on Friday, and the consensus target price is $102.63.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) was started with a Neutral rating and a $48 target price at JPMorgan. The stock closed down 1.6% at $49.25 a share on Friday. It has a $60.27 consensus target price.

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA Securities.

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $360 from $325 (versus a $350.66 prior close) at SVB Leerink. The stock had a $296.47 consensus target price.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral and its target price was raised to $61 from $39 at Piper Sandler.