Benzinga's Top Upgrades, Downgrades For August 6, 2018

Top Upgrades

• Cowen & Co. upgraded QUALCOMM Incorporated QCOM from Market Perform to Outperform. Qualcomm shares rose 1.68 percent to $66.50 in pre-market trading.
• Analysts at William Blair upgraded Vital Therapies, Inc. VTL from Market Perform to Outperform. Vital Therapies shares fell 1.22 percent to close at $8.10 on Friday.
• Raymond James upgraded WPX Energy, Inc. WPX from Outperform to Strong Buy. WPX Energy shares fell 4.30 percent to close at $18.68 on Friday.
• Cowen & Co. upgraded Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT from Market Perform to Outperform. Applied Materials shares rose 1.35 percent to $49.50 in pre-market trading.
• Atlantic Equities upgraded Comcast Corporation CMCSA from Neutral to Overweight. Comcast shares rose 1.02 percent to $35.77 in pre-market trading.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ICPT from Sell to Buy. Intercept Pharmaceuticals shares rose 6.4 percent to $103.50 in pre-market trading.
• Buckingham upgraded Square, Inc. SQ from Neutral to Buy. Square shares rose 2.08 percent to $69.78 in pre-market trading.
• Needham upgraded Allot Communications Ltd. ALLT from Hold to Buy. Allot Communications shares gained 3.44 percent to $5.42 in pre-market trading.
• Wells Fargo upgraded PG&E Corporation PCG from Market Perform to Outperform. PG&E shares climbed 1.96 percent to $43.80 in pre-market trading.
• Citigroup upgraded HMS Holdings Corp. HMSY from Neutral to Buy. HMS Holdings shares rose 16.25 percent to close at $28.90 on Friday.

Top Downgrades

• Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Casella Waste Systems, Inc. CWST from Buy to Hold. Casella Waste shares fell 1.83 percent to $27.85 in pre-market trading.
• Piper Jaffray downgraded ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. ACAD from Overweight to Neutral. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals shares fell 3.35 percent to $14.71 in pre-market trading.
• BMO Capital downgraded Horizon Pharma Public Limited Company HZNP from Outperform to Market Perform. Horizon Pharma shares fell 1.16 percent to close at $17.97 on Friday.
• Raymond James downgraded CNX Resources Corporation CNX from Market Perform to Underperform. CNX Resources shares rose 1.27 percent to close at $15.95 on Friday.
• Barclays downgraded Intel Corporation INTC from Overweight to Equal-Weight. Intel shares fell 1.57 percent to $48.85 in pre-market trading.
• Jefferies downgraded CommScope Holding Company, Inc. COMM from Buy to Hold. CommScope shares rose 0.13 percent to close at $31.64 on Friday.
• Bank of America downgraded Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. PCRX from Buy to Neutral. Pacira Pharmaceuticals shares rose 5.12 percent to close at $45.20 on Friday.
• JMP Securities downgraded Insmed Incorporated INSM from Market Outperform to Market Perform. Insmed shares dropped 2.68 percent to $25.45 in pre-market trading.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. MDGL from Buy to Neutral. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals shares fell 0.16 percent to close at $250.93 on Friday.
• Mizuho downgraded Noble Energy, Inc. NBL from Buy to Neutral. Noble Energy shares fell 7.92 percent to close at $32.89 on Friday.

Top Initiations

• Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on Sage Therapeutics, Inc. SAGE with an Overweight rating. The price target for Sage Therapeutics is set to $206. Sage Therapeutics shares closed at $145.68 on Friday.
• Analysts at Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. GBT with an Overweight rating. The price target for Global Blood Therapeutics is set to $80. Global Blood Therapeutics shares closed at $46.55 on Friday.
• Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. ALDR with an Overweight rating. The price target for Alder Biopharmaceuticals is set to $28. Alder Biopharmaceuticals shares closed at $19.00 on Friday.