Stocks traded higher on Wednesday and the major indexes were higher again early Thursday. Many investors missed out on the recovery from late in March, but many key leadership stocks are now down from their highs at more attractive entry points.

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 Thursday, October 8, 2020.

Applied Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: APLT) was started with a Buy rating and an $85 price target (versus a $21.33 prior close, after a 4.09% drop) at Truist Securities.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQT) was started with a Buy rating and a $38 price target (versus a $24.38 prior close) at Truist Securities.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) was started as Market Perform with a $55 target price (versus a $53.33 prior close, after a 6.08% drop) at Cowen.

Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. (NYSE: AQUA) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its target was raised to $26 from $24 at Raymond James. The stock closed up 2.2% at $23.31 a share but had a consensus target price of $21.82 ahead of this call.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) closed up over 7% at $78.71 on Wednesday and has a $68.74 consensus target price. Raymond James reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target price to $80 from $72.

InflaRx N.V. (NASDAQ: IFRX) was started with a Buy rating and an $11 target price (versus a $4.56 prior close) at H.C. Wainwright.

Kura Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: KURA) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $43 from $27 at Credit Suisse. The stock closed up 7.7% at $33.56 per share, and it had a $26.25 consensus target price.

Livent Corp. (NYSE: LTHM) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its target was raised to $14 from $9 (versus an $11.97 prior close) at Raymond James.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $125 target price (versus a $105.66 prior close) at Stifel.

Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE: MTH) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.

NextEra Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: NEP) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $73 from $64 (versus a $65.57 prior close) at Raymond James. The stock closed up 4.5% to $65.57 on Wednesday, but note that its consensus target price was $63.69.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $255 from $190 (versus $212.55 prior close) at Needham. The stock had a $175.00 consensus target price.

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the pandemic has radically altered the consumer experience and many REITs are suffering. Shares last closed at $71.03 and have a consensus price target of $80.75.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) was started with an Underweight rating and a $214 price target (versus a $246.00 prior close) at Atlantic Equities.

Sprout Social Inc. (NASDAQ: SPT) was started with an Overweight rating and a $56 target price (versus a $44.42 prior close) at Barclays. The stock closed up over 6% on Wednesday and was indicated up another 3.5% at $46.00 on Thursday, and it had a $37.75 consensus target price.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that Jamie Dimon’s favorite mistake has everyone chasing this one early. Shares most recently closed at $180.18 and have a consensus price target of $155.83.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was raised to Buy from Neutral and the target price was set at $578 at New Street Research. The stock closed up 2.7% at $425.30 a share on Wednesday, and it had a $308.83 prior consensus target price.

Nine Dow Jones industrials could be poised for the best reactions to upcoming earnings.

On the other hand, nine well-known stocks just can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to the recovery.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Amazon.com, Diageo, eBay, Etsy, Home Depot, MGIC Investment, Netflix, Sirius XM and Vir Biotechnology.

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