Stocks were indicated to open slightly lower on Monday as profit-taking heading into the last day of November seemed to be the theme of the day. The Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 are very near all-time highs, and many investors did not get to participate in the massive rally since March’s panic selling. Investors now are trying to factor in what the post-election and post-coronavirus markets and economy may look like in 2021. Despite a surge in new cases, the investing community is taking a risk-on view, with the thought that a vaccine will be available shortly.

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 Monday, November 30, 2020.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was raised to Buy from Hold at Loop Capital. Apple stock closed up 0.5% at $116.59 per share ahead of the call, and it had a $125.37 consensus target price.

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) was raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said the transition to AI powerhouse evolves as investors and analysts see the trough in growth. Shares most recently closed at $139.42 and have a consensus price target of $167.80.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC. The stock closed down 1.5% at $21.10 on Friday and was indicated down almost another 3.0% at $20.50 on Monday. The prior consensus target price was $28.19.

CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that despite an enhanced partnership with Microsoft, earnings projections just dropped 37% for next year. Shares last closed at $113.20 and have a consensus price target of $121.65.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $190 from $170 at Needham. Shares closed at $150.83 and had a $160.58 consensus target price ahead of the call.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Impinj Inc. (NASDAQ: PI) was started as Buy with a $46 price target at Goldman Sachs. The stock closed up 0.7% at $35.48 a share on Friday, and it had a $31.50 consensus target price.

Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: KOD) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.

Methanex Corp. (NASDAQ: MEOH) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) was started with a Hold rating at Deutsche Bank.

Mr. Cooper Group Inc. (NASDAQ: COOP) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $34.00 from $27.50 (versus a $27.02 close) at Wedbush Securities. It had a $29.50 consensus target price.

Noble Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: NBLX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $12 price target (versus a $9.71 close) at Wells Fargo. The stock had a $9.00 consensus target price and close to a 7.5% yield-equivalent distribution.

NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $16 price target at Wells Fargo. The stock closed down almost 1% at $14.03 a share ahead of the call, with a $16.00 consensus analyst target. It has close to an 11% yield-equivalent distribution.

PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities.

Proofpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: PFPT) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $135 price target (versus a $101.44 close) at Truist Securities.

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was maintained as Buy at Truist Securities, with the firm noting that it hopes Salesforce does not acquire Slack.

Slack Technologies Inc. (NYSE: WORK) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays. The shares were down 2% at $39.83 on Monday as no acquisition by Salesforce has been announced. The stock was closer to $29.50 a share before the rumors of a deal broke last week.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and its price target was raised to $52 from $42 at Stephens. The stock closed down 1% at $44.21 a share ahead of the call, and it has a $45.47 consensus target price.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $267 price target at RBC Capital Markets. The stock closed up almost 4% at $226.71 last Friday, and it had a $287.64 consensus target price.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was raised to Sector Perform from Underperform with a $31 price target at RBC Capital Markets.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) was reiterated as Strong Buy and its price target was raised to $180 from $165 at Needham. Shares closed up 1.9% at $149.74 apiece, and they had a $152.39 consensus target price ahead of this call.

A BofA Securities analyst has some sensible option overwriting ideas for stocks he feels can generate solid total return for investors in the next three weeks.

Recent top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Analog Devices, Apple, Best Buy, Dell Technologies, Dollar Tree, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, HP, Medtronic and Zscaler.

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