Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG): Loop Capital’s downgrade was to Hold from Buy, and the analyst slashed the $200 target price to $140. Raymond James downgraded the stock to Outperform from Strong Buy, and its $200 price target fell to $160. The consensus target is $171.92. Friday’s $130.27 close was down almost 6% for the day after the company badly missed second-quarter earnings estimates.
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL): Berenberg started coverage with a Hold rating and a $180 target price. The consensus target is $198.48. Friday’s close was at $182.70.
Ferguson PLC (NYSE: FERG): Raymond James started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $175 target price. The consensus target is lower at $158.54. The shares closed on Friday at $162.23.
J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) Consumer Edge Research upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight and has a $154 target price. The consensus target is $149.82. The stock closed on Friday at $142.49.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): Oppenheimer raised its $400 target price on the Outperform-rated stock to $450. The consensus target is $421.20. Friday’s close at $404.19 was up over 6% for the day, as the company once again posted stellar quarterly results.
MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI): New Street’s upgrade was to Buy from Neutral. The analyst also raised the $1,400 price target to $1,650, above the $1.637.15 consensus target. Friday’s final trade was for $1421.64 a share.
Oxford Industries Inc. (NYSE: OXM): Telsey Advisory reiterated a Market Perform rating but trimmed its price target to $107 from $155. The consensus target is $117.80, and shares close at $102.09 on Friday.
Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA): Wedbush boosted its Neutral rating to Outperform and its target price to $95 from $80. That compares with a consensus target of $92.73 and Friday’s close at $77.15.
Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA): Citing its shrinking dividend and fierce competition, Zacks selected this entertainment giant as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $25.93 in the past year but closed most recently at $13.65.
Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE: SIG): When Telsey Advisory reiterated a Market Perform, its $71 price target increased to $82. The consensus target is $81.40. On Friday, the close at $78.62 a share was almost a 5% gain for the day, in the wake of strong quarterly results.
Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER): Zacks makes the case that its Bull of the Day stock is firing on all cylinders. Shares last closed at $47.04, and its $56.19 consensus price target would be a 52-week high.
Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE): As J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, its $15 target price rose to $16. The consensus target is $16.46. Friday’s close was at $13.99.
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $35 target price. The consensus target is $31.60. Friday’s $29.998 close was almost 3% higher for the day.
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Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Chewy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar General, Exxon Mobil, Hostess Brands, Okta, Palantir Technologies, Shopify, 3M and Victoria’s Secret.
Originally published at 24/7 Wall St.
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