U.S. stocks have tried to stage a recovery from the sell-off that started early this week. Thursday’s reaction to jobless claims ticking lower was showing another bounce as S&P 500 futures were up about 0.8%. Many companies have still been issuing soft guidance along with their earnings reports and there are still concerns about companies where valuations remain high. Oggonomics is always searching for new ideas for stocks to buy and sell in good markets and in bad markets. The daily flow of Wall Street analyst upgrades and downgrades can be a source for many new ideas all in one spot.
Investors with a long-term horizon have to look for opportunities in good times in bad times. They also need to know when to sell a stock after big runs or to prevent further erosion. That’s all part of being a strategic investors.
Oggonomics always issues a reminder to its readers that no single analyst report should be used as a sole decision to buy or sell a stock. Some analysts can simply get too carried away with upside. And some analysts just get their analysis and projections wrong.
These are some of the top analyst upgrades and downgrades seen on Thursday, August 8, 2024.
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) was reiterated as Underweight and its price target was cut to $90 from $95 (versus $79.06 prior close) at Piper Sandler.
BP PLC (NYSE: BP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and its overseas target price was cut to 490p from 530p (versus 431p now) at HSBC. BP’s U.S.-listed ADSs were last seen trading up 0.5% at $33.32 on Thursday’s early indications.
Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ: BMBL) was last seen trading down 40% at $4.83 after its earnings and cut to annual guidance did not live up to expectations. Bumble was maintained as Neutral and its price target was slashed down to $7 from $13 at Piper Sandler. Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal Weight rating but slashed its price target down to $6 from $12. Evercore ISI cut Bumble to In-Line from Outperform and slashed its price target down to $8 from $18. Bumble was downgraded to Neutral and its target was slashed down to $7 from $17 at JPMorgan. Stifel downgraded Bumble to Hold from Buy and slashed its target down to $8 from $18 in the call.
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) saw its shares fall 12.6% to $199.96 on Wednesday after earnings and its shares were down another 1% at $198.00 on Thursday. Charles River was maintained as Buy but its price target was cut to $250 from $290 at Goldman Sachs. Charles River Labs was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and its target as slashed down to $205 from $270 at JPMorgan.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) was maintained with an Outperform rating but its price target was trimmed down to $925 from $950 (versus $810.30 prior close) at Oppenheimer.
Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE: BROS) was last seen trading down about 21% at $29.80 in what appears to be its worst post-earnings reaction since its 2021 IPO. Dutch Broos was maintained as Neutral but its price target was cut to $37 from $42 at Robert W. Baird. TD Cowen cut its price target to $47 from $50 while maintain its Buy rating.
Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: EDIT) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its price objective was raised to $15 from $13 at BofA Securities. Editas closed down 12.2% at $4.11 the prior trading day and Thursday’s indications were showing the shares up almost 7% at $4.39 in early indications.
Fastly, Inc. (NYSE: FSLY) was down another 15.2% at $5.80 as yet another earnings report did not match some of the growth and guidance estimates. Fastly was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and its price target was cut to $6 from $10 at Piper Sandler.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform and its price target was slashed down to $22 from $36 at Mizuho. Intel closed down 3.6% at $18.99 on Wednesday but was indicated up almost 1% at $19.15 on Thursday.
Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) fell 17.2% to $9.08 on Wednesday’s earnings reaction but the stock was up about 1% at $9.20 on Thursday’s early trading. Lyft was maintained as Buy but its price target was cut to $18 from $23 at Canaccord Genuity. Lyft was maintained as Neutral and its price target was cut to $10 from $18 at Susquehanna.
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK) was maintained as Outperform but its price target was cut to $270 from $295 (versus $249.16 prior close) at Oppenheimer. Wells Fargo maintained its Overweight rating but cut its price target to $293 from $305 in its call.
Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) closed up 17.8% at $63.89 after earnings on Wednesday and the stock was indicated up 0.6% at $64.31 on Thursday. Shopify was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $85 from $80 at Morgan Stanley. Truist maintained its Hold rating but raised its price target to $65 from $55 on Shopify.
Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. (NYSE: MODG) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its price objective was cut to $13 from $18 at BofA Securities. Truist maintained its Buy rating but cut its price target to $16 from $20 in its call. Topgolf Callaway shares fell 12.7% to $12.22 late on Wednesday but the stock was indicated up about 1.5% at $12.41 on Thursday.
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) fell 4.46% to $85.96 on Wednesday after earnings and shares were indicated down another 0.7% on Thursday. Walt Disney was kept at Overweight but its target as cut to $125 from $135 at JPMorgan. Walt Disney was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Seaport Global. Needham & Co. kept its Buy rating but cut Disney’s target to $110 from $145.
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If you missed Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were on Airbnb, Amgen, BP, Lumen, Reddit, Rivian, Super Micro, Uber and many more stocks.
