GameStop Corp. (GME), Safeway Inc. (SWY), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (REGN): Friday’s Three Best Stocks

Grocer Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) also rose 6.1%, but missed out on being today’s top-performing S&P 500 component by a nose (6.07% for GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) vs. 6.05% for Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY)), following an upgrade by Credit Suisse. The move by Credit Suisse took Safeway all the way from an underperform to an outperform rating, and moved its price target to $34, from $26. Specifically, the covering analyst notes that Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY)’s CEO’s attempts to improve shareholder value, and suggests that Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) could unlock shareholder value and improve margins by divesting itself of non-core assets. It’s always important to remember that the supermarket industry is based on razor-thin margins, so any way to improve those margins could have a profound impact on profits. Personally, I’ve appreciated Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY)’s attempt to freshen its store image and focus on more organic, high-margin products, and feel the upgrade is long overdue.

Finally, biotech juggernaut Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) followed in Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY)’s path, and rose 6% after Lazard Capital Markets boosted its price target to $325, from $298, and kept its rating at buy. The covering analyst, Joshua Schimmer, points to a co-developed drug with Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY), known as dupilumab, that’s currently being tested for allergic asthma and atopic dermatitis as its next big catalyst. With additional indications, Schimmer belives this experimental drug could impact up to a $10-billion market if approved. Given the ongoing dominance of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN)’s lead drug Eylea, it’s hard to argue against its results, but I also feel that much of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN)’s expectations have already been baked into its share price.

The article Today’s 3 Best Stocks originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of GameStop, Lazard and Microsoft.

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