The futures traded higher yet again on Friday morning as we complete the first full trading week for 2021, and it’s ending with a bang. Despite the unrest in Washington, D.C., this week, the conclusion of the election, along with the expectations on Wall Street for additional stimulus, infrastructure spending and continued easy fiscal policy, drove all three of the major indexes and the Russell 2000 to fresh all-time highs on Thursday.
Investors should continue reviewing portfolios very closely now and making adjustments in positioning for the first quarter and the balance of 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 Friday, January 8, 2021.
Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL | AFL Price Prediction) was upgraded to In-Line from Underperform at Evercore ISI, which also raised the price target on the shares to $47. The Wall Street consensus target is $44.09., and shares were last seen Thursday trading at $44.68.
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Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA) was downgraded at BofA Securities from Neutral to Underperform with a $37 price target. That compares to the $39.30 consensus target. The shares closed Thursday at $40.79.
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was upgraded at Deutsche Bank from Hold to Buy with a $196 price objective. That compares with a lower consensus target of $179.75. The stock was last seen on Thursday at $198.81
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, where the analysts also raised the price target on the integrated oil giant to $113. The consensus target is lower at $102.82.
Commercial Metals Co. (NYSE: CMC) was downgraded at Deutsche Bank from Buy to Hold with a $22 price target. The consensus target is $22.29. The last trade on Thursday was reported at $23.20.
CubeSmart Inc. (NYSE: CUBE) was raised from Underperform to Market Perform with a $36 price objective at BMO Capital Market. That compares to a $35.22 consensus target and Thursday’s $33.16 final print.
CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) was raised to Buy with a $90 price target from Hold at Jefferies. The consensus target is $82.48. The final trade on Thursday was posted at $73.99, up almost 2% on the day. Shares were also trading higher in Friday’s premarket.
D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets, which also hiked the price target on the red-hot homebuilder to $90. The consensus target is $89.21. The shares were last seen Thursday at $68.69, after rising over 4% on the day.
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) was raised to Overweight from Sector Perform at KeyBanc Capital Market. The firm also has a $14 price objective, which is well above the $11.88 consensus target and the $10.74 per share close on Thursday.
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Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham. The semiconductor equipment giant has traded in a massive 52-week range of $181.38 to $517.72, and it has a $469.16 consensus price target. With the stock closing at $514.46, this surely looks like a straight valuation call.
Meridian Bioscience Inc. (NASDAQ: VIVO) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this small-cap diagnostics player will grow sales over 20% based on COVID-19 testing alone. Shares most recently closed at $21.09 and have a consensus price target of $26.67.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was raised to Buy from Hold at Summit Insights. The chip leader has traded in a 52-week range of $31.13 to $80.08, and it has a posted consensus price target of $84.08. The shares closed Thursday at $79.11, up close to 3% for the day.
Ping Identity Holding Corp. Inc. (NYSE: PING) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which also lifted the price target on the cybersecurity software company to $34. It has a $33.29 consensus target, and Thursday’s close was at $28.51.
Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which also lowered the price target to $90. It has a higher $100.81 consensus target, and it closed Thursday at $94.74 a share.
Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette. The bank has traded between $6.94 and $17.93 over the past year. The shares were last seen Thursday at $17.66.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James, while the analysts at Morgan Stanley cut the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $95 price target. The stock was blasted after the company reported disappointing gene therapy study results. The consensus price target of $190.24 is sure to be slashed, as the stock, which closed at $168.95, was down around $87 in the premarket, a stunning 49% drop.
U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) was raised at Deutsche Bank from Sell to Buy with a $28 price objective. It has a very low consensus target of $10.62. The last trade on Thursday hit the tape at $20.45.
Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets, which also dropped the price target to $49. That compares with a $46.95 consensus and Thursday’s final trade of $47.44.
Voya Financial Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) was downgraded from Outperform to In-Line with a $64 target at Evercore ISI. The consensus target is $65.08. The shares closed most recently at $61.12.
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Goldman Sachs is very positive on four leading financial companies that pay solid dividends and have a very bright outlook for this year and beyond.
Note that electric vehicle stocks continue to soar and that mining and metals stocks have been hitting new 52-week highs.
Thursday morning’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Coca-Cola, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, McDonald’s, Royal Caribbean, Tesla, 3M and Wells Fargo. Analyst calls made later in the day included Domino’s Pizza, FedEx, Lockheed Martin, Roku and more.
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