Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (REGN), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY): 3 Monday Morning Upgrades I’m Buying Now

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There were countless market-moving upgrades on Monday morning — but here are three in particular that I believe are most attractive and that I personally am buying.

A Bullish Day for Biotech

The entire biotech space is moving higher in response to the bid for Onyx Pharmaceuticals, especially those with Orphan blockbusters. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) is one of those stocks, but also got an upgrade to produce an extra boost.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN)

Piper upgraded the stock from “Neutral” to “Overweight” with a $274 price target. Shared traded higher, erasing some of the 20% loss that it has posted over the last six weeks. If Piper’s target is correct, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) would trade with a market cap near $27 billion (currently $22.75 billion) and would trade at 10.8 times next year’s sales and 45 times next year’s earnings.

While these metrics may appear expensive, keep in mind that it has an approved drug, EYLEA, with peak sales potential of $4 billion; they also have two other approved drugs and a pipeline with 12 products, including the Phase 3 cholesterol drug Alirocuma. This one product is estimated to have peak sales potential of $3.5 billion in the U.S. alone. Therefore, when you consider its pipeline, current product offerings, and its potential, you can see that the upside is quite high for this company.

“Sentiment is bad. Make that horrible”

The above quote was issued by Raymond James with its upgrade of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to “Strong Buy” from “Buy.” Raymond James believes that the integration of its ecosystem into cars, TVs, and appliances could present a new high-growth market for the company.

Aside from the reasons noted, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is cheap. It is still producing growth and is trading at just seven times next year’s earnings (minus cash) and at 2.2 times sales. In a previous article, I showed how Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is actually worth $700 but is going through a transition where it shifts from growth to maintenance.

In the past, this has always worked well for other companies such as Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) or Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR), but does seem to produce short-term weakness. Thus, I agree with Raymond James that shifting sentiment and new product offerings will drive the stock higher.

Another Retail Turnaround

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) with a bullish $40 price target and an “Outperform” rating. Credit Suisse believes that new leadership was a good idea for the retailer and likes what it sees from the company in its turnaround process.

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