Stocks closed lower on all three major market indexes on Wednesday, as the stimulus negotiations are looking like they are post-election as the deadline and election date is nearing. The indexes were indicated down over 0.5% overnight, but Thursday’s readings were closer to down 0.2% as earnings season takes hold.

Though many investors missed out on the recovery since late March, many key leadership stocks have pulled back from their highs to 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 22, 2020.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) was reiterated as Outperform and its target price was raised to $114 from $102 at Raymond James. Also, SVB Leerink maintained its Market Perform rating but raised its price target to $115 from $110. The stock closed down 2.2% at $105.93 a share, and it has a $116.47 consensus target price.

Aramark Corp. (NYSE: ARMK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Avery Dennison Corp. (NYSE: AVY) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.

BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) traded up 1.3% to $1,366.66 a share ahead of earnings but was indicated down 4.5% at $1,304.50 after profit-taking. Cowen reiterated it as Outperform and raised its target price to $1,550 from $1,400. Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal Weight rating on valuations but cut its target to $1,253 from $1,285. Wedbush Securities reiterated its Outperform rating and $1,600 target price.

iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) closed down 13% at $83.48 a share on Wednesday after earnings, and it has an $82.00 consensus target price. Raymond James raised its rating from Market Perform to Outperform with a $98 target price.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Netgear Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR) closed up 2% at $36.53 on Wednesday after beating earnings. Raymond James reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its $35 price target to $43.

Parsley Energy Inc. (NYSE: PE) closed down 8.4% at $9.73 on the news of its merger with Pioneer. MKM Partners downgraded Parsley Energy from Buy to Neutral with an $11 price target (versus a $9.73 prior close).

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs. The stock was down 5.8% at $124.30 per share on Wednesday and was indicated down another 3.9% at $119.40 Thursday morning. Its consensus target price is $116.33.

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its target price was raised to $61 from $37 (versus a $49.38 prior close) at Goldman Sachs. The stocks 8.9% gain the prior day was based largely on Snap’s strong earnings gain, and it is now well above the prior consensus target price of $39.60.

PNM Resources Inc. (NYSE: PNM) was up 9% at $49.90 a share on Wednesday after its Avangrid buyout news. It was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $52 price target at Mizuho, to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo and to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Qualys Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) was downgraded Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Sleep Number Corp. (NASDAQ: SNBR) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that selling a really good night of sleep has become more profitable than ever. Shares most recently closed at $61.61 and have a consensus price target of just $46.75.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) was reiterated as Buy and its target price was raised to $301 from $250 at Needham.

Teradyne Inc. (NYSE: TER) was raised to Neutral from Negative at Susquehanna.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was last seen up almost 5% at $443.00 a share on Thursday after the earnings report indicated that the company is on track to produce 500,000 cars in 2020. Robert W. Baird raised the shares from Neutral to Outperform with a $488 price target, and JMP Securities raised it from Market Perform to Market Outperform with a $515 price target.

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) was downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at Gordon Haskett. The stock closed down 8.2% at $270.27 a share on Wednesday, and it has a $309.60 consensus target price.

WPX Energy Inc. (NYSE: WPX) shares were down another 3.5% at $4.40 following news of its merger with Devon. Piper Sandler upgraded it from Neutral to Overweight with an $8 price target.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) was down 2.6% at $146.85 a share on Wednesday, and it is very close to its $147.73 consensus target price. Webush Securities has reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target price to $175 from $160, based on strong and continued deal flow ahead of its earnings report.

The BofA Securities US 1 list of top stock picks includes four technology stocks that offer aggressive growth investors solid upside in 2021 and a place to put capital into the sector where the trades are perhaps not as overbought and crowded as some momentum plays.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Albermarle, Albertsons, Dave & Buster’s, eBay, Netflix, Slack, Snap and Texas Instruments.

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