Stocks managed to close higher for two days in a row, but the major indexes were all indicated to open down by 0.1% to 0.2% in early Tuesday. There is also only one day left in the quarter, and the S&P 500 is still down just over 6% from the high close on September 2. As many investors missed out on the recovery from late in March, many of the key leadership stocks that led the recovery are now down significantly from their highs.

Investors now are firmly bracing for the election and the imminent presidential debate, and they are dealing with a slower recovery and no approved stimulus package yet. With interest rates likely to be low for a very long time, investors need to be considering new ideas and trying to decide how they want to be positioned heading into the fourth quarter.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid.

Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, September 29, 2020.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was started with a Hold rating at Berenberg.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) was started with a Buy rating and a $73 price target at Berenberg.

Checkpoint Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CKPT) was reiterated as Buy but its price target was raised to $17 from $15 (versus a $2.62 prior close) at H.C. Wainwright.

Core Laboratories N.V. (NYSE: CLB) was raised to Hold from Sell at ABN AMRO.

CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $86 from $76 at Raymond James.

Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE: D) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its target price was raised to $84 from $82 (versus a $77.23 close) at JPMorgan. It had an $81.62 consensus target price, and its yield is nearly 5%.

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) was started with a Hold rating at Berenberg.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) was raised to Neutral from Sell with a $231 target price (versus a $215.75 close) at Goldman Sachs. It had a $217.86 consensus price target ahead of the call.

GreenPower Motor Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: GP) was started with a Buy rating at BTIG. The stock closed down 2.7% at $10.87 a share ahead of the call and was indicated up 5% at $11.45 afterward. Its market cap is barely $200 million, and this may be the only analyst call on the stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was upgraded to Buy from Hold and its price target was raised to $110 from $100 at Independent Research. The stock closed up 2.9% at $96.16 ahead of this call, with a $115.90 consensus target price.

Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) was started with a Hold rating at Berenberg.

Molson Coors Beverage Co. (NYSE: TAP) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that restaurant closures across the country have not stopped this company from tapping into profits. Shares most recently closed at $33.58 and have a consensus price target of $44.16.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised to $140 from $130 at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS. The stock closed up 4% at $26.01 on Monday, with a $33.41 consensus price target. It also has a double-digit yield because its shares are still down so much from the 52-week high of $78.48.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was started with a Hold rating at Berenberg.

RH (NYSE: RH) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform and its target price was raised to $435 from $370 (versus a $361.06 close) at Cowen.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG) was maintained as Equal Weight but its price target was raised to $300 from $280 (versus a $267.80 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE: RKT) was reiterated as Neutral and its price target was lowered to $20 from $24 (versus a $20.52 close) at Wedbush Securities, which noted that a rebranding of its partner channel to “Rocket Pro TPO” impact its views on valuation.

Shutterstock Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) was started with a Buy rating and a $63 price objective at BofA Securities. Shares closed at $52.04 ahead of the call, with a $57.67 consensus target price.

Skywest Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that airlines had hoped the rebound from pandemic shutdowns would be quick. Shares last closed at $31.21 and have a consensus price target of $43.57.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was raised to Outperform with a $195 price target at a firm called Wolfe Research. The stock closed up almost 2% at $160.67 on Monday, and its consensus target price was $149.12.

Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) was started with an Equal Weight rating at Morgan Stanley.

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its price target was raised to $227 from $198 (versus a $199.45 close) at Raymond James.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its price target was raised to $195 from $165 (versus a $168.90 close) at Raymond James.

ViaSat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) was maintained as Equal Weight but its target was cut to $42 from 443 (versus a $34.19 close) at Morgan Stanley.

WPX Energy Inc. (NYSE: WPX) shares rose 16% to $5.17 on Monday after news that the company was merging with Devon in a merger of equals. MKM Partners downgraded its Buy rating to Neutral with a $5 price target.

XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $95 from $85 (versus an $86.27 close) at Raymond James.

Five top travel and tourism companies likely will be the go-to stocks in their field for a coming COVID-19 vaccine.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Chevron, FedEx, Hilton Worldwide, Plug Power, Snap, Spotify, United Parcel Service and Virgin Galactic.

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