Notable Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades for Week of April 2, 2018


Upgrades:


Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) was upgraded by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call. Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 5th. Goldman Sachs upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.02 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, December 11th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. BidaskClub upgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $118.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Friday, January 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.43. Read more …

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) was upgraded by equities researchers at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. The firm currently has a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Argus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 35.61% from the company’s current price. CAH has been the subject of several other research reports. TheStreet raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 13th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Cardinal Health and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $83.00 price target on shares of Cardinal Health and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Cardinal Health currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.46. Read more …

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $97.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.45% from the company’s previous close. DRI has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $99.00 to $97.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 22nd. SunTrust Banks reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $92.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $116.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.26. Read more …


Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) was upgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday. The brokerage currently has a $158.00 price target on the railroad operator’s stock. Deutsche Bank’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.58% from the stock’s current price. A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS upgraded Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup upgraded Union Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Union Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.10. Read more …


Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports. Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BidaskClub raised shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. ValuEngine raised shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 15th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $37.26 price target on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Numis Securities raised shares of Vodafone Group from an “add” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.76. Read more …

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) was upgraded by Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday. A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of BHP Billiton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Goldman Sachs raised shares of BHP Billiton from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase raised shares of BHP Billiton from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Investec raised shares of BHP Billiton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 9th. Finally, Cowen upped their price objective on shares of BHP Billiton from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.37. Read more …

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) was upgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Wednesday. Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of GlaxoSmithKline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. TheStreet lowered shares of GlaxoSmithKline from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of GlaxoSmithKline from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase restated a “neutral” rating on shares of GlaxoSmithKline in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of GlaxoSmithKline from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. GlaxoSmithKline presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.37. Read more …

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday. A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MRK. BMO Capital Markets set a $68.00 price target on Merck & Co., Inc. and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. ValuEngine raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. SunTrust Banks raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Jefferies Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.35. Read more …

Downgrades:


Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) was downgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports. A number of other research firms have also weighed in on INTC. JPMorgan Chase set a $53.00 target price on shares of Intel and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer restated a “hold” rating on shares of Intel in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Intel from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $60.00 target price on shares of Intel and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Vetr lowered shares of Intel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.51 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.30. Read more …

Goldman Sachs lowered shares of Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, December 5th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Whirlpool from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. KeyCorp reissued an equal weight rating on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Whirlpool from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, UBS raised shares of Whirlpool from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $189.40. Read more …

Johnson Controls International plc Ordinary Share (NYSE:JCI) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday. The firm presently has a $38.00 price target on the auto parts company’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.59% from the stock’s previous close. According to Zacks, “Johnson Controls has acquired Nashville-based Smartvue Corporation. The acquired company will help the former to provide cloud-based video surveillance solution under its Building Technology & Solution offerings in a more cost-efficient and secure way. The company regularly undertakes strategic contracts and divestments in order to expand its businesses and focus on less cyclical and high margin segments. It is also actively undertaking acquisitions and mergers in order to offer world-class technologies to its customers through strong complementary brands and channels. Further, it regularly increases its dividend and buys back shares to boost shareholder value. Also, in the last three months, Johnson Controls shares outperformed the industry it belongs to.” Read more …

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) was downgraded by equities researchers at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report released on Thursday. They currently have a $38.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Barclays’ price target indicates a potential upside of 5.70% from the stock’s current price. Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PFE. Deutsche Bank set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pfizer and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 6th. UBS set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 8th. Nord/LB reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.40. Read more …


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