Benzinga's Top Upgrades, Downgrades For October 23, 2020

Upgrades

• For Mattel Inc MAT, DA Davidson upgraded the previous rating of Neutral to the current rating Buy. In the third quarter, Mattel showed an EPS of $0.95, compared to $0.26 from the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of 14.83 and a 52-week-low of 6.53. At the end of the last trading period, Mattel closed at $12.92.
• For Spire Inc SR, Credit Suisse upgraded the previous rating of Neutral to the current rating Outperform. Spire earned $0.07 in the third quarter, compared to $0.07 in the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of Spire shows a 52-week-high of 87.96 and a 52-week-low of 50.58. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $58.24.
• According to Stephens & Co., the prior rating for Stewart Information Services Corp STC was changed from Equal-Weight to Overweight. For the third quarter, Stewart Information Servs had an EPS of $2.21, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $1.28. The current stock performance of Stewart Information Servs shows a 52-week-high of 49.48 and a 52-week-low of 20.26. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $42.10.
• Susquehanna upgraded the previous rating for StoneCo Ltd STNE from Neutral to Positive. In the second quarter, StoneCo showed an EPS of $0.10, compared to $0.16 from the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of StoneCo shows a 52-week-high of 60.76 and a 52-week-low of 17.72. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $57.88.
• Susquehanna upgraded the previous rating for PulteGroup Inc PHM from Neutral to Positive. In the third quarter, PulteGroup showed an EPS of $1.34, compared to $1.01 from the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of PulteGroup shows a 52-week-high of 49.7 and a 52-week-low of 17.12. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $42.65.
• MKM Partners upgraded the previous rating for Motorola Solutions Inc MSI from Neutral to Buy. In the second quarter, Motorola Solutions showed an EPS of $1.39, compared to $1.69 from the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of Motorola Solutions shows a 52-week-high of 187.49 and a 52-week-low of 120.77. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $168.99.
• Benchmark upgraded the previous rating for Seagate Technology PLC STX from Hold to Buy. Seagate Technology earned $0.93 in the first quarter, compared to $1.03 in the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of 64.17 and a 52-week-low of 39.02. At the end of the last trading period, Seagate Technology closed at $51.79.
• For TRI Pointe Group Inc TPH, B. Riley FBR upgraded the previous rating of Neutral to the current rating Buy. In the third quarter, TRI Pointe Group showed an EPS of $0.63, compared to $0.44 from the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of 19.59 and a 52-week-low of 5.89. At the end of the last trading period, TRI Pointe Group closed at $16.79.
• JMP Securities upgraded the previous rating for Redwood Trust Inc RWT from Market Perform to Market Outperform. In the second quarter, Redwood Trust showed an EPS of $1.00, compared to $0.39 from the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 18.01 and a 52-week-low of 2.14. Redwood Trust closed at $8.35 at the end of the last trading period.
• RBC Capital upgraded the previous rating for PulteGroup Inc PHM from Sector Perform to Outperform. In the third quarter, PulteGroup showed an EPS of $1.34, compared to $1.01 from the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of PulteGroup shows a 52-week-high of 49.7 and a 52-week-low of 17.12. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $42.65.
• According to RBC Capital, the prior rating for Whirlpool Corp WHR was changed from Underperform to Sector Perform. For the third quarter, Whirlpool had an EPS of $6.91, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $3.97. The current stock performance of Whirlpool shows a 52-week-high of 207.3 and a 52-week-low of 64.0. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $193.77.
• According to Piper Sandler, the prior rating for EOG Resources Inc EOG was changed from Neutral to Overweight. For the second quarter, EOG Resources had an EPS of $0.23, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $1.31. The current stock performance of EOG Resources shows a 52-week-high of 89.54 and a 52-week-low of 27.0001. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $36.92.
• Piper Sandler upgraded the previous rating for Pioneer Natural Resources Co PXD from Neutral to Overweight. For the second quarter, Pioneer Natural Resources had an EPS of $0.32, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $2.01. The stock has a 52-week-high of 159.01 and a 52-week-low of 48.62. At the end of the last trading period, Pioneer Natural Resources closed at $83.02.

Downgrades

• For The Kroger Co KR, Evercore ISI Group downgraded the previous rating of Outperform to the current rating In-Line. For the second quarter, Kroger had an EPS of $0.73, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $0.44. The current stock performance of Kroger shows a 52-week-high of 37.22 and a 52-week-low of 24.09. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $32.64.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded the previous rating for Wintrust Financial Corp WTFC from Outperform to Market Perform. Wintrust Financial earned $1.67 in the third quarter, compared to $1.69 in the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 71.95 and a 52-week-low of 22.0215. Wintrust Financial closed at $50.34 at the end of the last trading period.
• JP Morgan downgraded the previous rating for TAL Education Group TAL from Overweight to Neutral. In the second quarter, TAL Education showed an EPS of $0.08, compared to $0.02 from the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of 83.675 and a 52-week-low of 36.12. At the end of the last trading period, TAL Education closed at $66.30.
• According to Jefferies, the prior rating for Navistar International Corp NAV was changed from Buy to Hold. Navistar International earned $0.08 in the third quarter, compared to $1.47 in the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of 45.25 and a 52-week-low of 15.01. At the end of the last trading period, Navistar International closed at $43.12.
• For Citrix Systems Inc CTXS, Morgan Stanley downgraded the previous rating of Overweight to the current rating Equal-Weight. Citrix Systems earned $1.38 in the third quarter, compared to $1.52 in the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of Citrix Systems shows a 52-week-high of 173.56 and a 52-week-low of 100.31. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $126.65.

Initiations

• With a current rating of Buy, Truist Securities initiated coverage on Pfizer Inc PFE. The price target seems to have been set at $42.00 for Pfizer. Pfizer earned $0.78 in the second quarter, compared to $0.80 in the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 40.97 and a 52-week-low of 27.88. Pfizer closed at $37.46 at the end of the last trading period.
• Truist Securities initiated coverage on Merck & Co Inc MRK with a Buy rating. The price target for Merck & Co is set to $96.00. In the second quarter, Merck & Co showed an EPS of $1.37, compared to $1.30 from the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 92.64 and a 52-week-low of 65.25. Merck & Co closed at $79.20 at the end of the last trading period.
• Truist Securities initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Co LLY with a Buy rating. The price target for Eli Lilly is set to $180.00. Eli Lilly earned $1.89 in the second quarter, compared to $1.50 in the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 170.75 and a 52-week-low of 101.36. Eli Lilly closed at $141.59 at the end of the last trading period.
• Truist Securities initiated coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BMY with a Hold rating. The price target for Bristol-Myers Squibb is set to $65.00. Bristol-Myers Squibb earned $1.63 in the second quarter, compared to $1.18 in the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 68.34 and a 52-week-low of 45.76. Bristol-Myers Squibb closed at $60.76 at the end of the last trading period.
• With a current rating of Buy, Truist Securities initiated coverage on AbbVie Inc ABBV. The price target seems to have been set at $110.00 for AbbVie. AbbVie earned $2.34 in the second quarter, compared to $2.26 in the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of AbbVie shows a 52-week-high of 101.28 and a 52-week-low of 62.55. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $84.30.
• With a current rating of Buy, HC Wainwright & Co. initiated coverage on ClearSign Technologies Corp CLIR. The price target seems to have been set at $4.00 for ClearSign Technologies. ClearSign Technologies earned $0.05 in the second quarter, compared to $0.09 in the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of 4.11 and a 52-week-low of 0.35. At the end of the last trading period, ClearSign Technologies closed at $2.48.
• RBC Capital initiated coverage on WAVE Life Sciences Ltd WVE with a Sector Perform rating. The price target for WAVE Life Sciences is set to $13.00. In the second quarter, WAVE Life Sciences showed an EPS of $1.15, compared to $1.22 from the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 39.98 and a 52-week-low of 6.61. WAVE Life Sciences closed at $8.31 at the end of the last trading period.
• With a current rating of Overweight, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Stoke Therapeutics Inc STOK. The price target seems to have been set at $49.00 for Stoke Therapeutics. Stoke Therapeutics earned $0.39 in the second quarter, compared to $1.54 in the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of Stoke Therapeutics shows a 52-week-high of 40.7 and a 52-week-low of 15.82. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $38.81.
• JMP Securities initiated coverage on Shutterstock Inc SSTK with a Market Outperform rating. The price target for Shutterstock is set to $72.00. For the second quarter, Shutterstock had an EPS of $0.62, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $0.33. The stock has a 52-week-high of 62.58 and a 52-week-low of 28.76. At the end of the last trading period, Shutterstock closed at $60.33.
• With a current rating of Outperform, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Shake Shack Inc SHAK. The price target seems to have been set at $90.00 for Shake Shack. Shake Shack earned $0.45 in the second quarter, compared to $0.27 in the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 93.0355 and a 52-week-low of 30.01. Shake Shack closed at $72.56 at the end of the last trading period.
• With a current rating of Overweight, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Cassava Sciences Inc SAVA. The price target seems to have been set at $24.00 for Cassava Sciences. Cassava Sciences earned $0.05 in the second quarter, compared to $0.06 in the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of 12.68 and a 52-week-low of 1.05. At the end of the last trading period, Cassava Sciences closed at $8.83.
• RBC Capital initiated coverage on uniQure NV QURE with an Outperform rating. The price target for uniQure is set to $61.00. uniQure earned $0.96 in the second quarter, compared to $0.83 in the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of uniQure shows a 52-week-high of 76.6869 and a 52-week-low of 34.38. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $41.26.
• With a current rating of Buy, Guggenheim initiated coverage on Nevro Corp NVRO. The price target seems to have been set at $190.00 for Nevro. For the second quarter, Nevro had an EPS of $1.21, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $0.91. The current stock performance of Nevro shows a 52-week-high of 166.29 and a 52-week-low of 65.05. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $162.39.
• RBC Capital initiated coverage on MeiraGTx Holdings PLC MGTX with an Outperform rating. The price target for MeiraGTx Hldgs is set to $27.00. MeiraGTx Hldgs earned $0.69 in the second quarter, compared to $0.63 in the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of MeiraGTx Hldgs shows a 52-week-high of 22.32 and a 52-week-low of 8.82. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $13.09.
• With a current rating of Buy, Stifel initiated coverage on Hycroft Mining Holding Corp HYMC. The price target seems to have been set at $15.00 for Hycroft Mining Holding. The current stock performance of Hycroft Mining Holding shows a 52-week-high of 16.1713 and a 52-week-low of 6.8. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $7.75.
• Brookline Capital initiated coverage on electroCore Inc ECOR with a Buy rating. The price target for electroCore is set to $5.00. In the second quarter, electroCore showed an EPS of $0.13, compared to $0.41 from the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 3.3 and a 52-week-low of 0.3201. electroCore closed at $1.57 at the end of the last trading period.
• Brookline Capital initiated coverage on CTI BioPharma Corp CTIC with a Buy rating. The price target for CTI BioPharma is set to $7.00. In the second quarter, CTI BioPharma showed an EPS of $0.19, compared to $0.19 from the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of CTI BioPharma shows a 52-week-high of 3.68 and a 52-week-low of 0.62. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $3.34.
• With a current rating of Sector Perform, RBC Capital initiated coverage on CRISPR Therapeutics AG CRSP. The price target seems to have been set at $110.00 for CRISPR Therapeutics. For the second quarter, CRISPR Therapeutics had an EPS of $1.30, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $1.01. The current stock performance of CRISPR Therapeutics shows a 52-week-high of 111.9 and a 52-week-low of 32.3. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $90.16.
• Wedbush initiated coverage on BigCommerce Holdings Inc BIGC with a Neutral rating. The price target for BigCommerce Holdings is set to $90.00. Interestingly, in the second quarter, BigCommerce Holdings's EPS was $0.38. The current stock performance of BigCommerce Holdings shows a 52-week-high of 162.5 and a 52-week-low of 63.7716. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $89.95.
• Guggenheim initiated coverage on Axonics Modulation Technologies Inc AXNX with a Buy rating. The price target for Axonics Modulation Tech is set to $77.00. For the second quarter, Axonics Modulation Tech had an EPS of $0.54, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $0.68. The stock has a 52-week-high of 52.1 and a 52-week-low of 15.25. At the end of the last trading period, Axonics Modulation Tech closed at $48.52.
• Guggenheim initiated coverage on Axogen Inc AXGN with a Buy rating. The price target for Axogen is set to $24.00. Axogen earned $0.15 in the second quarter, compared to $0.10 in the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of 18.84 and a 52-week-low of 7.16. At the end of the last trading period, Axogen closed at $13.35.
• With a current rating of Outperform, RBC Capital initiated coverage on Allogene Therapeutics Inc ALLO. The price target seems to have been set at $55.00 for Allogene Therapeutics. In the second quarter, Allogene Therapeutics showed an EPS of $0.53, compared to $0.41 from the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of Allogene Therapeutics shows a 52-week-high of 55.0 and a 52-week-low of 17.43. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $35.34.
• RBC Capital initiated coverage on HealthEquity Inc HQY with an Outperform rating. The price target for HealthEquity is set to $67.00. In the second quarter, HealthEquity showed an EPS of $0.42, compared to $0.45 from the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of 88.78 and a 52-week-low of 34.4. HealthEquity closed at $55.14 at the end of the last trading period.