With continued volatility in the market, TipRanks brings you the latest analyst action on some of your favorite stocks to help you navigate through the ups and downs. Let’s take a closer look at the top bullish and bearish calls of the day and see what market pundits are recommending.
Upgrades
KeyBanc analyst John Vinh turned bullish on Texas Instruments (TXN) and maintained a price target of $225. In a note to investors, Vinh said that several aspects of the company’s business seem underappreciated. He believes that by Texas Instruments keeping 80% of its manufacturing capacity internal, the company should continue to see “incremental design wins and share gains.” Furthermore, the analyst believes that “the decision to not increase pricing and capacity is driving incremental share gains that should lead to outperformance over the next several years.”
Additionally, TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 96% Bullish, compared to a sector average of 69%.
D.A. Davidson analyst Kevin Fitzsimmons upgraded Carter Bank & Trust (CARE) from Hold to Buy and raised the price target to $16.25 from $12.50. The analyst considers the stock’s “still heavily discounted” valuation, favorable environmental backdrop, and certain “self-help aspects” in resolving its “elevated loan problems” as positive factors. Fitzsimmons sees increasing vaccinations, expectations of a sustained economic recovery, a steeper yield curve, and improving credit scenarios, as a “unique” set of opportunities for investors interested in banking stocks.
TipRanks’ Stock Investors tool shows that investors currently have a Very Positive stance on Carter Bank & Trust, with 13.1% of investors increasing their exposure to CARE stock over the past 30 days.
Deutsche Bank analyst Andy Chu upgraded Kuehne & Nagel International AG (KHNGY) to Hold from Sell and increased the price target to CHF 250 from CHF 175. In a note to investors, Chu said that the company displayed strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2020 and expects the trend to continue into 2021. Furthermore, the analyst updated his projections to reflect stronger-than-expected volumes and GP/tonne and GP/TEU pricing.
On TipRanks’ Smart Score ranking, Kuehne & Nagel gets a 6 of 10, suggesting that the stock is likely to perform in-line with market expectations.
Morgan Stanley analyst Martijn Rats double upgraded Eni SpA (E) to Buy from Sell and increased the price target to EUR 12.30 from EUR 8.20. According to the analyst, the company is progressing well in restructuring its retails and renewables business. Rats remains positive on the company’s superior oil price sensitivity and “attractive” dividend yield.
Furthermore, TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 100% Bullish, compared to a sector average of 72%.
Nomura analyst Changwon Chung upgraded LG Display (LPL) to Buy from Hold and lifted the price target to KRW 28,000 from KRW 25,000 on expectations of a 1Q beat given strong LCD prices and OLED TV demand. Though Chung expects mobile/auto display demand to have been negatively impacted as semiconductor shortage issues disrupted production, he believes strong demand for TVs and PCs might have led to TV/IT LCD price hikes in the first quarter and projects “a large LCD margin of over 20%.”
TipRanks’ Stock Investors tool shows that investors currently have a Very Positive stance on LPL, with 7.1% of investors increasing their exposure to LPL stock over the past 30 days.
Downgrades
Morgan Stanley analyst Martijn Rats downgraded Total (TOT) to Hold from Buy. In a note to investors, Rats said that the stock outperformed significantly in 2020 as the company did not decrease its dividend last year. However, he expects Total’s gearing to start falling steadily and the dividend yield to decline to 6% from the present level of 6.6%.
TipRanks’ Hedge Fund Trading Activity tool shows that confidence in Total is currently Neutral as 7 hedge funds increased their cumulative holdings of the stock by 5.4 million shares in the last quarter.
Goldman Sachs analyst Shinichiro Nakamura downgraded Nomura Holdings (NMR) to Neutral from Buy, following the company’s disclosure of recorded losses in its prime brokerage business. According to Nakamura, the stock’s upside “looks limited” as Nomura’s earnings for this year are under pressure coupled with expectations of continual market concerns around risk management issues.
The analyst has trimmed the price target to $5.80, which implies upside potential of 4.4% to current levels.
Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin downgraded Canoo (GOEV) to Neutral from Buy and lowered the price target to $12 from $30, following the company’s first post SPAC-IPO results. Irwin noted that the company’s business model is going through a tough turnaround and a reset on operations, which are “clearly still ongoing.”
Overall, the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 1 Buy and 1 Hold. The average analyst price target of $15 implies upside potential of 61.3% to current levels.
Oppenheimer analyst Leland Gershell downgraded Ascendis Pharma (ASND) to Hold from Buy. Gershell steps to the sidelines to contemplate upcoming news flow and associated risk-reward. “With ASND on track to soon become a fully-commercial company, we expect investors to increasingly focus on lonapegsomatropin’s launch in pediatric GHD.”
TipRanks’ Stock Investors tool shows that investors currently have a Very Negative stance on Ascendis, with 9.5% of investors reducing their exposure to ASND stock over the past 30 days.
Truist Financial analyst Neal Dingmann downgraded CNX Resources (CNX) to Hold from Buy. According to Dingmann, CNX should continue to generate a “solid” free cash flow yield of almost 15%, but there are currently other companies expected to generate higher yields based on existing stock prices. The analyst maintained the price target of $16.
On TipRanks’ Smart Score ranking, CNX Resources gets a 7 out of 10, suggesting that the stock is likely to perform in-line with market expectations.
Besides the above, you can also have a look at the following:
Intel Stock Stages a Big Comeback; Analyst Says ‘Buy’
Anika Therapeutics: Primed To Outperform The Market, Says Top Blogger
Is Aptose Stock Still Worth Buying After Its 70% Rally? Analyst Weighs In
