Hot Stocks: PYPL, WFC, IIVI rise on upgrades; KC drops on downgrade
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With corporate announcements still coming out at a holiday pace, analyst comments took center stage during Monday's midday trading. This included upgrades for both Paypal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).
II-VI (NASDAQ:IIVI) also benefited from a bullish analyst's note.

Remarks from the Wall Street community had the opposite impact on Kingsoft (NASDAQ:KC). A downgrade sent the stock tumbling in intraday action.

Gainers

Paypal (PYPL) advanced nearly 3% in midday trading after BMO upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm argued that a drop in valuation made for an attractive entry point, even though its price target on PYPL was cut to $224 from $278.
A separate upgrade gave a boost to shares of Wells Fargo (WFC). Shares climbed almost 5% after Barclays raised its rating to Overweight from Equal Weight. Analyst Jason Goldberg said the stock should benefit from a strong macro environment and easing regulation.
II-VI (IIVI) also made the list of stocks experiencing buying interest in the wake of a bullish analyst comment. Raymond James upgraded the stock to Overweight, predicting that results for its data center transceiver segment will top expectations.
Boosted by the comment, IIVI climbed nearly 5% in intraday action.


Decliner

Kingsoft (KC) dipped 6% in midday trading following a downgrade from Goldman Sachs. The firm slashed its rating on KC to Neutral from Buy, in part on a prediction that COVID could slow project development for the China-based cloud computing company.
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