Investing

Top Analyst Calls: Sell Alphabet, Boeing, CME; Buy Southwest, Verizon, Wells Fargo!

U.S. stocks were indicated lower on Tuesday morning, ahead of what has historically been a challenging month for stocks. The Dow had recently hit all-time highs, and the S&P 500 is within 1% of all-time highs. Long-term investors and short-term traders alike are looking for new ideas ahead of the expected Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this month. Tactical Bulls is continually on the hunt for some of those new ideas inside the daily flow of Wall Street research reports.

Every morning’s new analyst upgrades and downgrades can be one of the potential sources for finding new ideas that might have otherwise been overlooked or missed. Long-term investors get a picture of new buy, sell and hold ratings. Traders get a glimpse of how the short-term moves are looking.

Tactical Bulls would remind its readers and all investors that no single analyst report should ever be used as the sole reason to buy or sell a stock. That decision to buy, sell or hold ultimately needs to be made by each investor along with their financial advisor.

These are some of the top analyst upgrades and downgrades seen on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) was maintained as Overweight but its price target was cut to $190 from $205 (versus $163.38 prior close) at Morgan Stanley, based on its four EBIT impact scenarios from the DOJ case against Google and a lower earnings multiple as a result.

Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a $12.50 price target (versus $3.40 prior close) at H.C. Wainwright.

The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight and its price target as slashed down to $119 from $184 (versus $173.74 prior close) at Wells Fargo. Boeing shares were indicated down 3.6% at $167.40 on Tuesday morning.

CME Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and its price target was cut to $177 from $212 (versus $215.74 prior close) at BofA Securities.

Eve Holding, Inc. (NYSE: EVEX) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a $6 price target (versus $2.81 prior close) at H.C. Wainwright.

Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE: FIC) was started as Outperform with a $1,967 price target (versus $1,730.27 prior close) at Oppenheimer.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and its price target was raised to $120 from $109 (versus $103.99 prior close) at Mizuho.

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a $9 price target (versus $5.00 prior close) at H.C. Wainwright.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $235 price target (versus $224.80 prior close) at Deutsche Bank.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) was raised to Buy from Hold and its price target was raised to $150 from $121 (versus $120.72 prior close) at Loop Capital.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE: PGR) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $275 from $255 (versus $252.20 prior close) at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) was reiterated as Buy with a $290 price target (versus $272.03 prior close) at Argus, with the independent research firm calling the recent weakness a buying opportunity as margins are improving despite weak end markets.

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and its price target was cut to $175 from $190 (versus $167.35 prior close) at Piper Sandler.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) was raised to Outperform from In-Line and its price target was raised to $35 from $30 (versus $28.92 prior close) at Evercore ISI.

Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE: SPHR) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $40 price target (versus $46.60 prior close) at Benchmark. Sphere was indicated down 3.5% at $44.98 ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $185 from $140 (versus $144.07 at Argus, with the independent research firm bullish on its luxury homes segment.

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U) was raised to overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley, but the firm maintained its $22 price target (versus $16.67 prior close) noting that its growth expectations now look derisked.

Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ) was reiterated as Overweight with a $46 price target (versus $41.78 prior close) at Morgan Stanley, with the firm projecting its 18th consecutive annual dividend hike this week.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $65 price target (versus $58.47 prior close) at Deutsche Bank.