Benzinga | Aug 21, 2020 09:33AM EDT

Benzinga's Top Upgrades, Downgrades For August 21, 2020

Upgrades

* According to Morgan Stanley, the prior rating for The Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL) was changed from Equal-Weight to Overweight. For the fourth quarter, Estee Lauder Cos had an EPS of $0.53, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $0.64. The stock has a 52-week-high of $220.42 and a 52-week-low of $137.01. At the end of the last trading period, Estee Lauder Cos closed at $198.40.

* For Williams-Sonoma Inc (NYSE:WSM), Gordon Haskett upgraded the previous rating of Accumulate to the current rating Buy. Williams-Sonoma earned $0.74 in the first quarter, compared to $0.81 in the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of $98.18 and a 52-week-low of $26.01. At the end of the last trading period, Williams-Sonoma closed at $95.28.

* For Concho Resources Inc (NYSE:CXO), Morgan Stanley upgraded the previous rating of Equal-Weight to the current rating Overweight. Concho Resources earned $1.13 in the second quarter, compared to $0.69 in the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of $93.34 and a 52-week-low of $33.13. Concho Resources closed at $48.54 at the end of the last trading period.

* For Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:OXY), Morgan Stanley upgraded the previous rating of Underweight to the current rating Equal-Weight. Occidental Petroleum earned $1.76 in the second quarter, compared to $0.97 in the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of Occidental Petroleum shows a 52-week-high of $48.85 and a 52-week-low of $9.00. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $13.40.



Downgrades

* For D.R. Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI), Wedbush downgraded the previous rating of Outperform to the current rating Neutral. For the third quarter, D.R. Horton had an EPS of $1.72, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $1.26. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of $75.54 and a 52-week-low of $25.51. D.R. Horton closed at $74.61 at the end of the last trading period.

* B of A Securities downgraded the previous rating for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co (NYSE:AJG) from Buy to Underperform. For the second quarter, Arthur J. Gallagher had an EPS of $0.94, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $0.65. The stock has a 52-week-high of $109.46 and a 52-week-low of $65.09. At the end of the last trading period, Arthur J. Gallagher closed at $106.36.

* According to B of A Securities, the prior rating for Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc (NYSE:MMC) was changed from Neutral to Underperform. For the second quarter, Marsh & McLennan had an EPS of $1.32, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $1.18. The current stock performance of Marsh & McLennan shows a 52-week-high of $119.88 and a 52-week-low of $74.33. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $116.04.

* Morgan Stanley downgraded the previous rating for Noble Energy Inc (NASDAQ:NBL) from Overweight to Equal-Weight. In the second quarter, Noble Energy showed an EPS of $0.24, compared to $0.10 from the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of $27.31 and a 52-week-low of $2.73. At the end of the last trading period, Noble Energy closed at $10.01.



Initiations

* Citigroup initiated coverage on EQT Corp (NYSE:EQT) with aBuy rating. The price target for EQT is set to $21.00. EQT earned $0.18 in the second quarter, compared to $0.09 in the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of $17.96 and a 52-week-low of $4.21. EQT closed at $15.86 at the end of the last trading period.

* Evercore ISI Group initiated coverage on OraSure Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:OSUR) with an Outperform rating. The price target for OraSure Technologies is set to $22.00. In the second quarter, OraSure Technologies showed an EPS of $0.16, compared to $0.07 from the year-ago quarter. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of $19.75 and a 52-week-low of $5.23. OraSure Technologies closed at $13.19 at the end of the last trading period.

* With a current rating of Sell, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM). The price target seems to have been set at $150.00 for Salesforce.com. Salesforce.com earned $0.70 in the first quarter, compared to $0.66 in the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of $210.11 and a 52-week-low of $115.29. At the end of the last trading period, Salesforce.com closed at $209.61.

* With a current rating of Buy, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE:PANW). The price target seems to have been set at $325.00 for Palo Alto Networks. Palo Alto Networks earned $1.17 in the third quarter, compared to $1.31 in the year-ago quarter. The stock has a 52-week-high of $273.56 and a 52-week-low of $125.47. At the end of the last trading period, Palo Alto Networks closed at $272.29.

* Loop Capital initiated coverage on Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK) with a Buy rating. The price target for Splunk is set to $270.00. For the first quarter, Splunk had an EPS of $0.56, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $0.02. The stock has a 52-week-high of $217.36 and a 52-week-low of $93.92. At the end of the last trading period, Splunk closed at $200.17.

* Loop Capital initiated coverage on Workday Inc (NASDAQ:WDAY) with a Sell rating. The price target for Workday is set to $140.00. For the first quarter, Workday had an EPS of $0.44, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $0.43. The stock has a 52-week-high of $202.00 and a 52-week-low of $107.75. At the end of the last trading period, Workday closed at $194.32.

* Loop Capital initiated coverage on Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ:ZS) with a Buy rating. The price target for Zscaler is set to $160.00. Zscaler earned $0.07 in the third quarter, compared to $0.05 in the year-ago quarter. The current stock performance of Zscaler shows a 52-week-high of $137.03 and a 52-week-low of $35.00. Moreover, at the end of the last trading period, the closing price was at $136.42.

* With a current rating of Neutral, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Silk Road Medical Inc (NASDAQ:SILK). The price target seems to have been set at $54.00 for Silk Road Medical. For the second quarter, Silk Road Medical had an EPS of $0.32, compared to year-ago quarter EPS of $0.23. At the moment, the stock has a 52-week-high of $56.91 and a 52-week-low of $20.84. Silk Road Medical closed at $56.01 at the end of the last trading period.