Investing

Thursday Afternoon Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apple, AutoDesk and More

With the trading day more than halfway over, the broad markets made another comeback from the open, similar to Wednesday, but can they hold it today? After the FOMC minutes were released Wednesday afternoon, markets plunged, but for the most part on Thursday, investors seem to have come to grips with this and the broad markets are positive.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing some big analyst calls seen on Thursday. We have included the latest analyst call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts.

For those that might have missed it, 24/7 Wall St. had an earlier round of analyst calls on Thursday that included Applied Materials, Brinker, Nvidia, SeaWorld, Target and more.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating and raised the price target to $180 from $175. Shares traded near $148 on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $103.10 to $151.68.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $334 price target. The stock traded near $332 on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $215.83 to $335.67.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQL APLS): Wedbush upgraded it to Outperform from Neutral, and Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $74 price target. The stock was changing hands near $60 a share on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $26.38 to $73.00.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH): Janney started coverage with a Buy rating and a $23 price target. The stock traded near $18 on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $10.96 to $26.12.

New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NFE): Credit Suisse upgraded it to Outperform from Neutral and cut the price target to $34 from $50. The stock was changing hands near $28 a share on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $25.60 to $65.90.

Xperi Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: XPER): Maxim Group started coverage with a Buy rating and a $31 price target. The shares were trading near $21 on Thursday, and the consensus price target is $26.33.


These five stocks are not overextended or overbought and are solid ideas in a very pricey stock market. While none of them soon will be making any massive parabolic moves higher, they look like very good ideas for growth investors seeking to reset portfolios to safer sectors.

See how much Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest ETFs are being shorted now, and whether expectations are too high for lithium products makers.

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