The Netflix Pain Train: Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Alphabet, Haliburton, Netflix, Uber and More
Wednesday’s additional top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Avis Budget, Bookings, Haliburton, Netflix, Palantir Technologies, Quanta Services, Tripadvisor and Uber Technologies.
Markets were somewhat mixed on Wednesday afternoon, with both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 higher but the Nasdaq lagging far behind. While this earnings season has been mostly positive, there was a huge hiccup that cannot be ignored.
Netflix shares were absolutely crushed after it reported disappointing results and guidance. Perhaps the biggest blow to the stock was declining subscriber numbers. Many attribute this decline to rising prices for the streaming service, the crackdown on sharing passwords or even the overall content library.
As per the latter argument, Elon Musk chimed in and said Netflix’s downfall was that it has succumbed to “woke mind virus” that is making the streaming service “unwatchable.” Even withstanding the richest man in the world jumping on the Netflix pain train, investors are at a crossroads, with markets and earnings season in general. All this makes for a stock-picker’s market.
24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Tuesday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day were on Airbnb, Amazon, Bank of America, Disney, Meta, Snap and many more.
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Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction): Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised the price target to $3,500 from $2,965. The 52-week trading range is $2,193.62 to $3,030.93, and shares were trading near $2,558 on Tuesday.
Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR): Barclays upgraded shares to Equal Weight. The 52-week trading range is $65.87 to $545.11, and shares traded near $315.21 apiece on Tuesday.
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG): Citigroup’s upgrade to Buy from Neutral rating included a price target hike to $2,600 from $2,290. The stock traded near $2,283 on Tuesday. The 52-week trading range is $1,796.45 to $2,715.66.
Haliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL): Stephens lowered its Overweight rating to Equal Weight but raised the price target to $40 from $37. The stock traded near $40 on Tuesday. The 52-week trading range is $17.82 to $42.60.
LegalZoom.com Inc. (NASDAQ: LZ): Citigroup upgraded it to Buy from Neutral and raised the $19 price target to $20. Shares were trading near $15. The 52-week range is $11.05 to $40.94.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): The downgrades rolled in:
- Wells Fargo from Overweight to Equal Weight with a $300 price target
- Piper Sandler to Neutral from Overweight with the $562 price target cut to $293.
- J.P. Morgan to Neutral from Overweight with the $605 price target cut to $300.
- BofA Securities to Underperform from Buy with the $605 price target cut to $300.
Shares of Netflix were trading down about 37% near $220 on Tuesday. The 52-week range is $212.51 to $700.99.
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Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR): The RBC Capital Markets upgrade to Sector Perform from Underperform included a price target hike to $12 from $9. The stock traded near $13 on Tuesday. The 52-week trading range is $9.74 to $29.29.
Quanta Services Inc. (NYSE: PWR): UBS lowered its Buy rating to Neutral but raised the $140 price target to $145. The stock traded near $137 on Tuesday. The 52-week trading range is $84.40 to $139.91.
Tripadvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP): Citigroup downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and cut the price target to $30 from $39. Shares were trading near $27.16 on Tuesday. The 52-week range is $20.25 to $52.00.
Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating, but it cut the $78 price target to $50. The 52-week trading range is $28.28 to $59.22, and shares were trading near $33 apiece on Tuesday.
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Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
