Stocks closed lower on Monday as profit-taking prevailed over positive earnings and good economic news, and the market indices were looking for direction on Tuesday. Investors have noticed that selling pressure around profit-taking and volatility fears have overcome the dominance of the “buy the sell-offs” mentality. The bull market is also over nine years old and has run into a tired spell. Now investors are wondering how to position their assets and investments for the rest of 2018 and beyond.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week. Our goal is to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy and some cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional color and commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These were the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and other research calls from Tuesday, May 1, 2018.

AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) was down 3.4% at $4.59 on Monday, but Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating while lowering its target price to $6.00 from $6.50. The firm was disappointed by the company’s challenges in monetizing what is the best domestic steel market in over a decade, but it sees improving automotive margins and spot prices at 10-year highs. Cowen maintained a Market Perform rating on AK Steel and lowered its target to $4.50 from $5.00. The 52-week trading range is $4.00 to $7.04.

Arconic Inc. (NYSE: ARNC) was down just over 20% at $17.81 after earnings on Monday. Credit Suisse maintained its Outperform rating with a note that the sell-off was overdone as earnings and margins are likely at a trough, although the firm did lower its price target on the shares to $28 from $33. The 52-week trading range is $17.60 to $31.17, and the consensus analyst price target is $29.22.

Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

British American Tobacco PLC (NYSE: BTI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

CarGurus Inc. (NASDAQ: CARG) was raised to Buy from Neutral at D.A. Davidson.

Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

DCT Industrial Trust Inc. (NYSE: DCT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was added to the Best Ideas List at Wedbush Securities, with the firm noting that the company will weather the controversy surrounding its Cambridge Analytica data breach. The firm also believes that Facebook should continue to invest in various initiatives that will generate substantial EBITDA growth for years to come.

Financial Engines Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

IDEX Corp. (NYSE: IEX) was maintained as Neutral but the fair value was raised to $140 from $139 (versus a $133.66 prior close) at Janney. The call was after IDEX exceeded expectations and guidance on earnings, but the firm is concerned about valuations.

Inogen Inc. (NASDAQ: INGN) was reiterated as Strong Buy but the price target was raised to $215 from $150 (versus a $140.58 close) at Needham. This stock was last seen up 24% at $174.50 in the premarket trading after beating earnings expectations on Monday evening. The 52-week trading range is $80.04 to $145.20.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) was maintained as Outperform with an $85 price target (versus a $74.91 close) at RBC Capital Markets, but it was removed from the Top Picks list.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. (NYSE: VAC) was down over 8% at $122.61 on Monday on news that it was acquiring ILG for the timeshare business. Janney reiterated Marriott Vacations as Buy and said to buy on the weakness as the deal had been rumored for a year and that it should be accretive to earnings. The 52-week trading range is $107.58 to $154.14.

Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG-A) was raised to Neutral from Underperform and the price target was raised to $85 from $82 at Credit Suisse. The 52-week trading range is $65.41 to $93.93, and the consensus analyst target is $90.75.

PerkinElmer Inc. (NYSE: PKI) was reiterated as Buy with a $92 fair value estimate (versus a $73.36 close) at Janney. After beating earnings, the firm sees robust organic growth and an improving picture on its predictability. The consensus price target is $83.15.

QEP Resources Inc. (NYSE: QEP) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) was started as Overweight and assigned a $42 price target (versus a $32.54 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The consensus price target is $39.20.

Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) was raised to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.

SteadyMed Ltd. (NASDAQ: STDY) was up 77% at $4.70 on Monday on news that it was being acquired. Now JMP Securities downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform afterward. The 52-week trading range is $2.60 to $7.50 and the consensus price target is $15.00.

Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) was reiterated as Outperform and the prior $64 price target was raised to $69 (versus a $64.08 close) at Wedbush. The firm sees same-store sales growth continuing to pass expectations and sees the company beating margin headwinds. The consensus price target is $61.00.

Town Sports International Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CLUB) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $12.50 from $10.50 (versus a $9.30 close) at Imperial Capital. The consensus price target is $10.50.

Check out Monday’s top analyst calls, which included Apple, Chevron, FirstEnergy, Intel, Kinder Morgan, Mattel, Sprint, T-Mobile, Take-Two Interactive Software, Wayfair and many more.

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