Investing

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Applied Materials, Caterpillar, Costco, JPMorgan, Opendoor, Spotify, Vornado, Whiting Petroleum and More

Lee Jackson

Published: December 30, 2020 9:01 am

Last Updated: August 10, 2021 2:34 pm

The futures were mostly higher on Wednesday morning, after investors witnessed another wild trading day on Tuesday when, once again, all the indexes printed intraday all-time highs during the session. With all equity trades now settling in 2021, we may start to see a major slowdown in volume as traders again eye the holiday on Friday. Investors should be reviewing portfolios very closely now and adjusting positioning for 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, December 30, 2020.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) saw its price target raised to $110 from $82 at Needham, where the stock is the top semiconductor capital equipment pick for 2021. It also was added to the firm’s Conviction List. The Wall Street consensus price target is much lower at $89.28. The last trade on Tuesday was posted at $84.27.

BioTelemetry Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAT) was downgraded at Truist Securities from Buy to Hold with a $72 price target. That compares to the $72 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing trade of $72.15.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) saw its price target raised to $220 at Baird, where the stock is one of the company’s top 2021 ideas. The industrial giant has a $173.75 consensus target, and Tuesday’s final trade hit the tape at $176.75

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was reiterated with an Outperform rating at Telsey Advisory, which has set a $430 price target for the retail behemoth. The consensus target is $400.62. The last trade came in Tuesday at $372.72.

Dynatrace Inc. (NYSE: DT) was started with a Buy rating and a $52 price target at BTIG Research. The $49.58 consensus target is also above Tuesday’s $41.88 close.

Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc. (NYSE: HASI) saw its price target raised to $58 at Baird, which also reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares. The consensus price target is also $58. Oddly, both are lower than Tuesday’s $62.36 close.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that it may be time to get back into the big bank stocks. Shares most recently closed at $125.01 and have a consensus price target of $125.76.

Matador Resource Co. (NYSE: MTDR) was reiterated as a Buy rating but the price target raised to $16 from $13 at Truist Securities. The consensus target is $13.31. The stock closed Tuesday at $12.

Opendoor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) was started with a Neutral rating at BTIG. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $10.55 to $32.39, and they have a consensus price target of $34. The stock was last seen Tuesday at $25.01. The shares traded 3% higher in Wednesday’s premarket.

Osmotica Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: OSMT) saw its price target lowered to $8 from $11 at Truist Securities. That compares with the $9.60 consensus and a $5.29 per share close on Tuesday. Shares were down a whopping 24% in the premarket after the company received a complete response letter from the FDA yesterday for its arbaclofen ER filing for multiple sclerosis spasticity due to insufficient support for efficacy.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) saw its target price raised to $380 from $310 at Monness Crespi & Hardt. That compares with the consensus figure of $275.57. Tuesday’s closing price was $318.43.

2U Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU) was reiterated with a Buy rating and was called the best idea for 2021 at Needham. The analysts feel that its setup heading into fiscal year 2021 is attractive as the company has been a delayed beneficiary from the shift to online education caused by the pandemic. The consensus target is $48.15, and the shares ended Tuesday at $39.64.

Vertex Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) was started with an Outperform rating and a $250 price target at Daiwa Securities. The consensus target for the company is even higher at $288.76. Tuesday’s last trade came in at $233.49.

Vir Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ: VIR) was reiterated at Baird with an Underperform rating and a $24 price target. That compares to a much higher $54.86 consensus estimate and Tuesday’s closing price of $28.58.

Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) was raised at Argus from Hold to Buy with a $42 price target. That compares to a $41.64 consensus target and Tuesday’s $35.99 close.

Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL) saw its price target lifted to $32 from $26 at Truist Securities. The consensus target is $29.25, and Tuesday’s last trade came in at $25.47.

WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (NASDAQ: WIMI) was started with a Buy rating and an $8 price target at Benchmark. The consensus target is $8.00, and Tuesday’s closing print was $5.70. The stock was 4% higher in the premarket action.

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Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amgen, Amphenol, Continental Resources, EOG Resources, FedEx, IMAX and Splunk.