Thursday's Analyst Action On U.S. Steel, Panera Bread And Others

Earnings season is a busy time for investors, traders and especially Wall Street analysts.

Here is a selection of some of the more notable Wall Street analyst calls from Thursday.

U.S. Steel: Analysts Are Mixed

Analysts at Bank of America downgraded United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) to Underperform from Neutral, but analysts at Argus Research upgraded the company to Buy from Hold. Also, analysts at CLSA maintained a Sell rating on the stock.

U.S. Steel's stock gained more than 5 percent on Thursday and hit a new 52-week high of $26.92 after the company reported a better-than-expected loss in its second-quarter earnings report.

Related Link: Panera Bread's Q2 Results Are Half Baked In BMO's View

Panera Bread: Analysts Aren't Showing A Greater Appetite

Analysts at BMO Capital Markets maintained a Market Perform rating on shares of Panera Bread Co (NASDAQ: PNRA) while analysts at Credit Suisse also maintained an Outperform rating on the restaurant chain.

Panera Bread's stock also hit a new 52-week high of $224.15 on Thursday and closed the day higher by more than 3 percent after the company reported a top- and bottom-line beat in its second-quarter print.

Others

Here are some of the other notable analyst calls:

• Analysts at Wolfe Research downgraded The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) to Underperform from Peer Perform.
• Analysts at Societe Generale downgraded Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ: MDLZ) to Hold from Buy.
• Analysts at Avondale Partners downgraded TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ: TERP) to Market Perform from Market Outperform.

The table was provided by Benzinga Professional, a premium service that provides traders and investors with real-time headlines and analysis covering earnings reports, M&A, IPOs, rumors and much more.

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