Why J C Penney Company Inc (JCP) And Twitter Inc (TWTR) Got Upgraded, While United Technologies Corporation (UTX) Was Downgraded

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)

Micro-blogging company Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) has been upgraded to a ‘Buy’ rating from a ‘Neutral’ one by analyst Bob Peck of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. In a research note issued this morning, the analyst cited that the company is likely to grow as a result of several partnerships it has recently rolled out. He also cited a more attractive valuation, as the social media company’s stock has slid beneath its IPO price this month and is down by 20.99% year-to-date. Shares of Twitter Inc are up by 5.77% today on the strength of the research note.

Out of the hedge funds we track, 47 were long in Twitter Inc, and held an aggregate of $701.39 million in shares, down sharply from 64 hedge funds with an aggregate of $1.75 billion at the beginning of the quarter. At the close of the second quarter, Daniel Benton‘s Andor Capital Management was long in Twitter Inc with 1.50 million shares worth $54.33 million.

How about insider activity? Well, there have been five open market buys and five sales over the past three months. The biggest insider purchase was made by Director and co-Founder Jack Dorsey in a transaction dated August 7, involving 31,627 shares.

United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX)

High-end technology conglomerate United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) was also the subject of analyst coverage today. The stock was downgraded by analysts at Barclays to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Overweight’ and its price target trimmed to $100 from $120. While the price target has been cut, it still represents a potential upside of 9.64% over its opening price today. Poor growth potential and lower visibility going into 2017 have been cited as some of the reasons for the downgrade. The company’s share price is currently trading 1.03% lower for the day, pulling the stock down by 19.77% year-to-date.

There were 57 hedge funds with long positions in United Technologies on June 30, with their aggregate ownership totaling $2.94 billion in value. This represented a drop in the number of hedge funds, as there were 60 with aggregate holdings of $3.21 billion at the beginning of the quarter. At the close of the quarter, Fisher Asset Management, headed by billionaire Ken Fisher, emerged as the biggest shareholder of United Technologies Corporation out of the more than 700 hedge funds that we track. The fund was long in the stock with 8.21 million shares valued at $910.62 million.

Disclosure: None