Analysts delivered a mixed bag of calls Thursday, with transport stocks and healthcare dominating the action.
Rail stocks swept higher in analyst targets. CSX, Union Pacific, and J.B. Hunt all saw consensus target prices nudge up. CSX's average target moved to $48.72 from $48.37. Union Pacific's rose to $297.30. The moves follow a broad reassessment of freight volumes as trade uncertainty eases.
The biggest downgrade of the day hit PepsiCo. Consensus cut the beverage giant from Hold to Sell. The average target price fell to $156.64 from $161.05. PEP carries a $188B market cap. Short interest sits at just 2.3% of free float, so bears are not piling in yet.
On pharma, Merck got a consensus target bump to $132.15. The $309B drug maker has minimal short interest at 1.2% of free float.
Waste haulers got a boost from Citigroup. Analyst Bryan Burgmeier raised Waste Management to Buy with a $269 target. He also lifted to Buy with a $259 target, up from $247.
Expand Energy saw Truist Securities cut its target to $117 from $134, maintaining a Buy rating.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
