Stocks were indicated lower on Wednesday, by 0.4% for the S&P 500 and by 0.5% for the Dow Jones industrials. Wednesday will mark the end of the quarter, and the S&P 500 was down almost 7% from its highest close in early September. Many investors missed out on the recovery from late in March, but many of the key leadership stocks are still down significantly from their highs.

Investors are now firmly bracing the election and the next 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 for the fourth quarter and beyond.

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 Wednesday, September 30, 2020.

Bio-Techne Corp. (NASDAQ: TECH) was started with an Overweight rating and its price target was set at $365 (versus a $246.76 prior close) at Atlantic Equities.

Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GOOS) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen, with the firm seeing positive signs from a strong brand and global appeal.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $38 from $36 (versus a $30.61 close) at Raymond James.

Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) was raised from Hold to Buy with a $100 price target at Stifel. The stock closed up 3.8% at $81.24 ahead of the call, with an $89.71 consensus price target.

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) was started as Overweight and its price target was set at $355 Atlantic Equities. Shares closed at $305.50 on Tuesday with a $296.40 consensus, and the stock has now recovered about half of its losses since mid-September.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was started as Buy and its price objective was set at $390 at BofA Securities. The stock closed up 1.5% at $323.67 ahead of the call, and it has a $371.10 consensus target price.

Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNS) was started with a Buy rating and a $35 price target (versus an $11.62 close) at Truist Securities. The firm noted that Ganaxolone could prove to be a pipeline drug to treat epilepsies.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was up almost 2% at $50.71 a share on Tuesday ahead of earnings, and the stock initially traded up but was last seen down over 3% at $49.00 on early Wednesday. Truist maintained its Neutral rating with a $55 target, and Needham maintained its Buy rating but lowered its price target to $65 from $70.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this sportswear giant impressed investors and analysts alike after blowout quarterly earnings. Shares most recently closed at $126.35 and have a consensus price target of $142.64.

OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OGI) was named the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said revenue and profits have fallen significantly year-over-year for this cannabis stock. Shares most recently closed at $1.05, after sinking to a 52-week low of $1.01 earlier in the day.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo.

Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $90 from $80 (versus a $69.41 close) at Rosenblatt.

Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $765 from $735 (versus a $705.67 close) at Credit Suisse.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) was raised from Neutral to Outperform with a $1,300 price target (versus a $1,025.70 close) at Wedbush Securities.

SkyWest Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its target price was raised to $42 from $40 (versus a $29.82 close) at Raymond James.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its target price was raised to $45 from $42 (versus a $37.61 close) at Raymond James.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform and its target price was raised to $99 from $77 at Cowen. The firm talked up the expanded digital platform with new pay options and the strong trends in curbside pickup. Starbucks closed down 1.5% at $84.80 a share ahead of the call, with an $83.45 consensus target price.

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs. The stock closed up 1.1% at $72.80 ahead of the call, and it had a $53.67 consensus target price. It was indicated down 2.5% at $71.00 ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) was started with a Buy rating and a $12 target price (versus a $9.12 close) at MKM Partners.

Top Wall Street firms have Buy ratings on shares of the four top contenders in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine. The question is, which one crosses the finish line first?

Should investors brace for more stock market panic in October?

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AbbVie, CSX, Dominion Energy, JPMorgan, NXP Semiconductors, ONEOK, Pfizer, Square, United Parcel Service and WPX Energy.

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