Top Analyst Stocks Upgrades and Downgrades:

Carnival, Facebook, Freeport-McMoRan, Motorola Solutions, Procter & Gamble and Many More

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. The goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while other reports cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Some color has been added on many of the following calls, and the consensus analyst price targets referenced are from Thomson Reuters.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, March 21, 2017:

Carnival Corp. (CCL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Facebook Inc. (FB) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $175 price target (versus a $139.94 prior close) at BTIG. Facebook has a consensus analyst price target of $159.82 and a 52-week trading range of $106.31 to $140.34.

ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch Identifies Top Steel Picks for Big Upside

Freeport-McMoran Inc. (FCX) was raised to Hold from Sell and the price target was raised to $14.00 from $12.50 (versus a $12.73 close) at Deutsche Bank.

Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $100 from $75 (versus an $84.30 close) at Jefferies. The firm feels that the LMR risk (LTE) is increasingly looking like a red herring and that Motorola's consensus earnings expectations are too low.

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) was started as Neutral with a $98 price target at JPMorgan in a broad-based neutral sector call on consumer products.

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $25 from $17 (versus a $22.11 close) at Jefferies. The firm feels that the unexpected Phase 3 success for NKTR-181 brings this mu-opioid analgesic back to life and feels that it could become Nektar's largest and most profitable product as it squarely addresses the opioid epidemic. Janney has a Buy rating and moved its fair value for Nektar to $23.

ALSO READ: Jefferies Has 4 Red-Hot Biotech and Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy Now

Credit Suisse's equity strategy team is signaling that it has become more worried about the potential for a pullback short term, due to peak valuations, escalating uncertainty about the policy path in Washington, and based on concerns about a modest downtick in global IP momentum near term. Still, they remain buyers on dips for now and noted that fund flows and the longer term economic outlook remain constructive.

Other key analyst calls were seen in the following:

Aevi Genomic Medicine Inc. (GNMX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was slashed to $2.50 from $10.00 (versus a $2.21 close) at Jefferies.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) was started as Buy with a $90 price target (versus a $64.86 close) at Drexel Hamilton.

BCE Inc. (BCE) was started as Overweight with a $47 price target (versus a $43.11 close) at Barclays.

BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the price objective was raised to $55 from $43 at Merrill Lynch.

Columbia Sportswear Co. (COLM) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $72 from $69 (versus a $57.53 close) at Wedbush. The firm feels the company is taking the right steps and sees estimates driving upside in 2017.

ALSO READ: As Large Banks Get Expensive, 4 Top Financial Stocks to Buy

Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ) was started as Overweight with a $183 price target (versus a $162.55 close) at JPMorgan.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (CBRL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus, based on slowing comparable store sales growth.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) was started as Overweight with a $100 price target (versus an $86.51 close) at JPMorgan.

HubSpot Inc. (HUBS) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy with a $73 price target (versus a $64.30 close) at Raymond James.

Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST) was started as Overweight and the price target was set at $56 at JPMorgan.

Newell Brands Inc. (NWL) was started as Overweight with a $63 price target (versus a $48.57 close) at JPMorgan.

Nord Anglia Education Inc. (NORD) was started as Buy with a $29 price target (versus a $24.13 close) at Citigroup.

Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $22 price target (versus a $17.20 close) at RBC Capital Markets.

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. (SFM) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $24 price target (versus a $21.83 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Tesoro Logistics L.P. (TLLP) was started as Buy with a $62 price target (versus a $52.50 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Bernstein downgraded certain food companies. While they were not all the calls, Campbell Soup, ConAgra, Kellogg and General Mills were downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform.

ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch Says Time to Buy These 5 Top Dividend Aristocrat Stocks

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-analyst-upgrades-downgrades-carnival-124030225.html

Analysts' Actions Stocks Ugrade & Down Grade -- Amazon, Capital One, Juniper, Microsoft, Omnicare and More

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- RATINGS CHANGES

Aerie Pharmaceuticals (AERI) was downgraded at Cantor Fitzgerald to hold from buy. Twelve-month price target is $12. On April 23, Aerie management reported disappointing efficacy results from the first Phase III trial for Rhopressa, the company's lead glaucoma candidate, Cantor Fitzgerald said.

Amazon.com (AMZN - Get Report) was upgraded at J.P. Morgan to overweight from neutral. Twelve-month price target is $535. Analysts are upgrading on accelerating growth, improving profitability and Amazon Web Services valuation, J.P. Morgan said.

Must Read: Warren Buffett's 7 Secrets to Dividend Investing Revealed

AT&T (T) was upgraded to buy at TheStreet Ratings. You can view the full analysis from the report here: T Ratings Report.

BB&T (BBT) was downgraded at Compass Point to neutral from buy. Twelve-month price target is $39. Company is lacking growth and facing net interest margin pressure, Compass Point said.

Best Buy (BBY - Get Report) was downgraded to neutral from overweight at J.P. Morgan. Twelve-month price target is $40. Analysts believe a slow start to the year for sales is likely to raise uncertainty on lapping stronger sales in the back half (that were driven by the TV inflection, significance of the new iPhone, and mass adoption of wearables), and this is likely to keep a lid on the stock's valuation until there is greater clarity given that the company's fourth quarter is 57% of earnings, J.P. Morgan said.

Capital One (COF - Get Report) was downgraded at FBR Capital Markets to market perform from outperform. Twelve-month price target is $87. Company is facing higher costs and slower consumer and commercial loan growth, FBR Capital Markets said.

EMC (EMC) was downgraded to hold at TheStreet Ratings. You can view the full analysis from the report here: EMC Ratings Report.

Juniper (JNPR - Get Report) was upgraded at RBC Capital to outperform from sector perform. Twelve-month price target is $29. Sales appear to have stabilized and there are early signs of higher telecom spending, RBC Capital said.

Mattel (MAT) was upgraded at Goldman Sachs to buy. Twelve-month price target is $37. New management is making the right strategic changes, Goldman Sachs said.

Manitowoc (MTW) was downgraded at RBC Capital to sector perform from outperform. Twelve-month price target is $20. Company is facing challenges in its food service and crane businesses, RBC Capital said.

Microsoft (MSFT - Get Report) was upgraded at Nomura to buy from neutral. Unchanged $50 price target. Microsoft will begin to show low single-digit revenue growth on an organic constant currency basis in calendar 2016, with about 10% EPS growth from the leverage of share repurchases and a 2.9% dividend yield, at a reasonable valuation of 12.4 times tax-effected EV/uFCF on Nomura's 2016 estimates, Nomura said.

Omnicare (OCR) was downgraded at RBC Capital to sector perform from outperform. Valuation call, based on an $82 price target.

Quintiles (Q) was upgraded at Jefferies to buy from hold. Twelve-month price target is $79. Q is coming off a year of solid top-line growth but even stronger bookings growth, Jefferies said.

Must Read: 11 Safe High-Yield Dividend Stocks for Times of Volatility and Uncertainty

By TheStreet Staff 

Source:http://www.thestreet.com/story/13125174/1/analysts-actions--amazon-capital-one-juniper-microsoft-omnicare-and-more.html