Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO): Evercore ISI started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $35 target price. The consensus target is $34.81. The shares closed on Thursday at $25.87.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): D.A. Davidson initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $270 target price. The consensus target is up at $293.80. Thursday’s $222.31 close was a retreat of almost 3% on the day.
NovoCure Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVCR): H.C. Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating and boosted its $100 target price to $140. That compares with a $91.50 consensus and Thursday’s close at $118.80, which was a 68% gain for the day after stellar clinical results.
Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN): As Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight, it bumped its $60 target price up to $65. The consensus target is $62.94. The stock closed on Thursday at $54.34.
Revolve Group Inc. (NYSE: RVLV): Piper Sandler lowered its Overweight rating to Neutral and cut the target price to $28 from $34. The consensus target is $26.69. The stock closed on Thursday at $21.31, down almost 9% for the day, likely on the downgrade and the weak tape.
Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT): Citing inventory issues, lagging sales and a failure to adapt to changing consumer shopping patterns, Zacks selected this retailer as its Bear of the Day stock. The shares have traded as high as $254.87 in the past year but closed most recently at $154.26.
Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT): Jefferies downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and lowered its $45 target price to $40. The consensus target is $48.25. The stock closed on Thursday at $35.85, down over 3% on the day.
Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZBH): Raymond James upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $144 target price. The lower consensus target is $125.23, below Thursday’s closing print of $126.08.
Seven of the Dividend Aristocrats with the biggest payouts also look like very timely total return picks to start 2023. With even moderate appreciation in their share prices, investors could be looking at double-digit return potential.
One key analyst sees a rebound coming for software stocks and has some top picks to buy now.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Baidu, Bank of New York Mellon, Charles Schwab, Corning, Merck, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nucor, Okta, Pfizer, Rivian Automotive, Snap, Target and Vornado Realty Trust.
Originally published at 24/7 Wall St.
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