When it comes to portfolio management, it pays to listen to experts. These experts may be company insiders or analysts. In addition to my own research, I like to seek these analysts’ opinion. One of the most important things that I watch out for is the price upgrades given by equity analysts.
Generally, such upgrades are positive sign and you can expect the security price to follow the lead in near future. Analysts periodically adjust their ratings for the stocks. These adjustments may result in downgrade or upgrade. Further, these changes may or may not be accompanied by change in price target. So, today, I am going to focus on top stocks which recently received price target upgrades.
BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK): The stock has received target price upgrade from Citigroup. The stock’s new price target is $220, while it is currently trading at $190.19, up 0.79 percent from its previous close of $188.69. Citi also boosted the rating for the stock from Neutral to Buy. BlackRock Inc. has traded in the range of $146.53 and $209.37 in the past 52 weeks and it has been making good movements in recent trading sessions. The company has market capitalization of $32.62 billion and its stock is trading at the Price Earnings ratio of 15.10. BlackRock Inc. is an investment management company and it offers its services to individual as well as institutional investors. The company also offers risk management services. Its stock is currently trading above its 20 days moving average price of $189.86 and 50 days moving average price of $189.25.
MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE:PCS): The company’s price target has been bumped up by Bernstein. Its price target is now at $16, up from previous target of $9.00. The stock is currently trading at $12.56, up 0.16 percent from its previous close of $12.54. The stock is trading at Price Earnings ratio of 13.93 and its beta is 1.42. MetroPCS rating has also been bumped by Bernstein. It now commands Outperform rating, up from Market Perform. The company is currently engaged in negotiations with T-Mobile USA for potential merger. The combined entity will be the fourth largest telecom company in the US and the deal is likely to be worth about $1.5 billion. The company stock is currently trading above its 20 days moving average price of $12.53 but it is trading below its 50 days moving average price of $12.58. MetroPCS Communications command the market capitalization of $4.56 billion.
T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW): The stock is currently trading at $64.40, up 0.23 percent from its previous close of $64.26. T. Rowe Price has its rating upgraded from Sell to Neutral by Citigroup. Its new price target is $63. The company stock’s earlier price target was at $56. The company stock is currently trading above its 20 days moving average price of $64.32 and it is also trading above its 50 days moving average price of $64.24. The company has market capitalization of $16.31 billion and its stock is trading at the Price Earnings ratio of 21.64. T. Rowe Price is an asset management company and also acts as financial intermediary. The company is operational internationally and has its presence in various countries such as Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. The financial company had reported its latest Earnings per Share at $2.97. Its stock has traded in the range of $49.35 and $66.00 in the past 52 weeks.
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ:MXIM): This $8.12 billion company is engaged in the business of designing, developing and marketing integrated circuits. Its stock is currently trading at $27.59, down 0.79 percent from its previous close of $27.81. Maxim Integrated Products’ new price target is $26, up from its previous price target of $23. The company stock is now rated Neutral by JPMorgan Chase, up from Underweight. The company stock is currently trading above its 20 days moving average price of $27.57 and it also trading below its 50 days moving average price of $27.70. The company recently introduced its Smart Meter System. This system integrates security, communication and metrology. It has named the product Zeus and it provides superior metering accuracy. The stock has traded in the range of $23.55 and $30.00 in the past 52 weeks.