Stocks were indicated to open marginally higher on Friday after the PCE inflation gauge rose less than expected by just 2.2% in August. With the U.S. rate-cutting cycle now underway and with the Chinese stimulating their economy, investors and traders alike are looking for new ideas to be positioned for the coming months and into 2025.

Tactical Bulls searches the daily flow of analyst calls covering the upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street looking for new ideas in Wall Street research reports. These analyst calls can be a reliable source for finding some of those new ideas that might have otherwise been overlooked or missed.

Short-term traders get a glimpse of immediate price reactions to news and to the analyst calls. Long-term investors get a picture of new buy, sell and hold ratings with targets looking a year out.

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

These are some of the top analyst upgrades and downgrades seen on Friday, September 27, 2024.

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) closed up 5.6% at $355.81 after earnings. BofA Securities reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price objective to $388 from $365 in its call. R.W. Baird maintained its Neutral rating but raised its price target to $370 from $350. Susquehanna maintained its Neutral rating but raised its target to $360 from $350.

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGIO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Leerink Partners.

CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $90 from $87 at Needham & Co. Evercore ISI maintained its In-Line rating but raised its price target to $79 from $76. CarMax closed up almost 5% at $78.21 after earnings on Thursday and its shares were indicated up 1% more at $79.00 early on Friday.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: CHK) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a $92 price target at Roth MKM. Chesapeake Energy closed up 2.6% at $80.30 on Thursday and it has a 52-week range of $69.12 to $93.58.

Civitas Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CIVI) was named as the Bear of the Day at Zacks, calling the oil producer a value trap with earnings in a difficult position as crude oil prices may continue to decline in 2025.

CME Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was started with a Sector Perform rating and was assigned a $235 price target (versus $218.47 prior close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) closed at $901.44 ahead of earnings and Friday’s reaction was down about 1% at $892.50. Morgan Stanley reiterated its Overweight rating after having recently raised its current target to $950. Costco was maintained as Neutral with a price target hike to $755 from $676 at Roth MKM. DA Davidson maintained its Neutral rating and hiked its target to $880 from $780. BMO Capital Markets reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target to $980 from $950. Loop Capital reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $1,005 from $975.

DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ: DASH) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $160 from $145 (versus $143.02 prior close) at Oppenheimer.

Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FUTU) was reiterated as Buy and its price objective was raised to $90 from $80 (versus $81.47 prior close, after a 7.9% gain) at BofA Securities.

HP, Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its price objective was maintained at $37 at BofA Securities as the price objective has nearly been reached. HP shares were indicated down 85-cents at $36.00 in pre-market trading.

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) was started with an Outperform rating and was assigned a $200 price target (versus $158.12 prior close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) was reiterated as Buy and its price objective was raised to $150 from $135 at BofA Securities. Jabil closed up 11.6% at $126.65 after earnings on Thursday and was indicated down 1% at $125.30 in Friday’s pre-market trading.

JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: JD) was named the Bull of the Day at Zacks, noting that the China online retail and supply outfit is cheap after hitting 5-year lows while earnings are expected to rise double-digits this year. Shares of JD.com closed up over 14% at $37.99 on Thursday and the stock was indicated up 3.5% at $39.30 on Friday. This ADS was trading at $29.76 before China’s stimulus package was announced.

ALSO READ: Why 10-Year Treasury Yield Is Still Too High!

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) closed up 14.7% at $109.88 on Thursday’s post-earnings reaction. Micron was maintained with an Outperform rating but its price target was cut to $150 from $172 at R.W. Baird.

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $25 from $20 at R.W. Baird. MP Materials closed up 4.6% at $16.90 on Thursday and was indicated up 3.6% more at $17.50 in Friday’s pre-market trading.

NASDAQ, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) was started with an Outperform rating and was assigned a $88 price target (versus $72.56 prior close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) was started as Hold with a $71 price target (versus $82.73 prior close) at Deutsche Bank.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCKT) was reiterated as Overweight and its price target was raised to $11 from $8 at KeyBanc Capital Markets, Rocket Lab USA shares closed up 0.8% at $8.69 on Thursday and its shares were up 0.6% at $8.74 in Friday’s pre-market trading.

Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $95 from $90 (versus $76.69 prior close) at Oppenheimer.

Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ: WYNN) was raised to Overweight from Equal-Weight and its price target was raised to $104 from $97 at Morgan Stanley. Wynn shares closed up 8.2% at $91.03 on Thursday and the stock was up 1.6% at $92.50 on Friday’s early trading indications.

If you missed Thursday’s top analyst calls, they covered shares of CME, Crocs, McDonald’s, Meta, Micron, Starbucks, Walt Disney and many more stocks.