Here’s What Analysts Had to Say About These Trending Stocks

Although they may not be right all of the time, analysts on the Street often have a lot more information than the average investor. The sell-side can also have a strong impact on the short-term price of many securities. Given that, we pay close attention to the latest analyst calls and commentary and have put together a list of that action from the past trading week as it relates to five prominent stocks, CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX), Endo International plc – Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:ENDP), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO), and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC).

Let’s dive in and see what various analysts had to say about the five stocks, in addition to checking out the latest 13F data to determine how hedge funds are trading these stocks.

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CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) received a thumbs up from Stephens’ Justin Long, who raised his price target on the stock to $37 from $32 and maintained his ‘Overweight’ rating  on it. Mr. Long likes how CSX has noticeably improved its operating leverage and notes that CSX will soon head into a period of more favorable year-over-year comps. If commodity prices normalize, CSX could also benefit further in the long run. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) by 21% in the second quarter to 2.97 million shares as of the end of June.

Endo International plc – Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:ENDP) shares inched up on Friday after Louise Chen of Guggenheim expounded on her ‘Buy’ recommendation and $35 price target. According to her sum-of-parts calculations, Chen estimates that Endo is worth anywhere between $30 and $51 per share, or 50%-to-150% higher than its current price. Chen thinks Endo’s management could send the price up by 50% or more if they choose to divest some of their non-core assets and Endo’s brand business to unlock value. 36 funds that we track owned shares of Endo International plc – Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:ENDP) at the end of the second quarter, a slide of 13 funds from a quarter earlier.

On the next page we’ll see what analysts had to say about Netflix, Tractor Supply Company, and Intel this week.

Benjamin Swinburne of Morgan Stanley defended Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) on Wednesday, saying that the impact of subscriber-losses by ‘un-grandfathering’ will peak in the third quarter. Although the analyst acknowledges that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) remains a strong competitor in terms of both consumers and content, Swinburne has an ‘Overweight’ recommendation and a $110 price target on Netflix. Separately, Doug Anmuth of JPMorgan trimmed his price target on Netflix to $122 per share from $125 on Friday, as he lowered his average selling price forecast for 2017 and also raised the company’s estimated investment spend in his model. Of the 749 hedge funds that we track which filed 13Fs for the June quarter, 54 owned $3.73 billion in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares on June 30, well below the 64 funds with $6.66 billion in Netflix holdings on March 31.

Various analysts chimed in on Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) after the company acquired Petsense for around $116 million. Michael Lasser of UBS likes the purchase, as he thinks the deal “plants a seed” for further growth in the specialty pet sector in the long run. Although Lasser doesn’t believe the purchase will impact Tractor Supply’s near-term financials all that much, the analyst did lower his price target on the stock to $80 from $88 due to anticipated macro and weather headwinds. On the opposite side is Brian Nagel of Oppenheimer, who thinks that TSC’s management should be focusing on its core business rather than buying other companies. Nagel nevertheless likes the purchase in the long run and also has an ‘Outperform’ rating and $80 price target on the stock. 29 funds tracked by Insider Monkey were shareholders of Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) at the end of June.

With its shares near their 52-week high and PC shipments apparently stronger-than-anticipated, it’s not surprising that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has some sell-side fans. Count Wells Fargo as one of them, as the bank has a ‘top pick’ rating and a $40-to-$50 price target on the stock. The firm thinks that Intel’s September quarter and guidance for the December quarter could benefit from a number of potential positive catalysts, including demand momentum at Intel’s Data Center Group, and brisk PC sales. 57 funds were also bullish on Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), owning shares of the company on June 30.

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