Stocks started off December with a gain, after the Dow Jones industrials had their strongest monthly gain in November in over 30 years. The major indexes were basically flat and looking for any tipping point for direction on Thursday. Many investors have missed out on the massive recovery in stocks since the panic that was seen earlier this year. Now the election noise is quieting down and a COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be available in the coming months. Investors need to decide how they want to be positioned heading into 2021.

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, December 3, 2020.

BEST Inc. (NYSE: BEST) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Commercial Metals Co. (NYSE: CMC) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at BNP Paribas.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) was last seen trading up almost 12% at $158.75 after its earnings report, and it previously had a $162.68 consensus target price. Needham reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target price to $200 from $190.

Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) was started with a Buy rating and a $165 price target at Mizuho.

Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) was started with a Buy rating and an $800 price target (versus a $690.62 prior close) at Mizuho. The stock previously had an $843.91 consensus target price.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this investment bank keeps finding ways to make money in all types of environments. Shares most recently closed at $237.65 and have a consensus price target of $262.03.

Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that a recent rally has made the shares of this materials supplier awfully expensive. They last closed at $53.24 but have a consensus price target of just $37.89.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Independent Research.

Kura Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: KURA) was started with a Buy rating and a $45 price target (versus a $33.69 prior close) at Stifel.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $50 from $41 at Needham. Wedbush Securities reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its target to $53 from $48. The stock closed up over 9.5% at $43.40 a share on Wednesday, and it had a $43.59 consensus target price.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) stock was down over 4.2% at $292.69 per share ahead of earnings and traded down almost 3% more to $284.50 after its first earnings report as a public company. Piper Sandler reiterated it as Overweight and has a $312 price target.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) stock was last seen down 21% at $161.40 after its earnings report. Stifel downgraded it from Buy to Hold with a $160 price target. Raymond James kept its Outperform rating but cut its target to $195 from $225. Needham maintained its Buy rating but cut its target price from $300 to $275. The stock previously had a $234.08 consensus target price.

Tattooed Chef Inc. (NASDAQ: TTCF) was started with a Hold rating and a $17 price target at Jefferies.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares were down 2.7% at $568.82 apiece on Wednesday, but the stock was indicated up 4.4% at $594.00 on Thursday. Goldman Sachs upgraded Tesla to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $780 from $455.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $77 price target (versus a $66.10 prior close) at Piper Sandler.

Xpeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $59 price target (versus a $56.00 prior close) at UBS.

XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO) stock was last seen trading up about 3.6% at $114.00 a share after news that the company would conduct a spin-off of its contract logistics operations into a new, separately traded company. Raymond James reiterated its Outperform rating on the shares and raised its target price to $135 from $105. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its rating as Overweight and raised its target from $125 to $140.

Yatra Online Inc. (NASDAQ: YTRA) was started as Buy with a $3 price target (versus a $1.94 prior close) at H.C. Wainwright.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) stock was trading up 11.25% at $163.30 per share after earnings. Needham reiterated it as a Strong Buy and has a $190 price target.

The analysts at Raymond James have been on fire this year with their Top Pick selections for health care, and we found four that look like great ideas for investors looking to initiate or add positions in the sector.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Dave & Buster’s, Kohl’s, Micron Technology, NetApp, Peloton Interactive, Salesforce.com, Slack, Verizon Communications and Whiting Petroleum.

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