The futures traded lower on Monday as Wall Street returns for a full week of trading and more review of President Biden’s plans for the first 100 days of his administration, which already includes a record-setting 30 executive orders that have been signed. With fourth-quarter earnings reports continuing to stream in, many across Wall Street will not only be examining the results but also looking to see what guidance for the first quarter and the rest of 2021 look like. With all the major indexes and the Russell 2000 closing still close to all-time highs, it makes sense for investors to start building some cash reserves while repositioning portfolios for 2021, as a pullback could be in the offing.

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, January 25, 2021.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) was downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform with a $185 price target at BMO Capital Markets. The Wall Street consensus target is lower at $166. The last trade on Friday hit the tape at $173.28, up over 3% on the day.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets, which also raised the price target to $30. The consensus target is $26.15, and the stock closed on Friday at $24.28 a share.

ArcelorMittal Inc. (NYSE: MT) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. Shares of the steel giant have traded in a 52-week range of $6.64 to $25.76 and have a consensus price target of $28.60. The shares closed most recently at $28.60.

Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) was started with a Buy rating at BofA Securities, which has a $50 price objective. That compares to a $43 consensus target and the close at $41.05 on Friday.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the rumors were confirmed that this company will become the Tesla of China. Shares most recently closed at $252.75 and have a consensus price target of $208.86.

CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE) was started with a Buy rating and a $74 price target at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target is $63.33. The final Friday trade was reported at $66.02 a share.

Cheesecake Factory Inc. (NASDAQ: CAKE) was raised at JPMorgan from Underweight to Neutral with a $44 target. The consensus target is $37.35. The stock was last seen on Friday at $42.36.

GameStop Inc. (NYSE: GME) was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Telsey Advisory Group, though the firm boosted the price target to $33. That compares to a very low $11 consensus target. The shares have been on a wild ride over the past month and closed Friday at $65.01, after more than a 50% gain for the day. Not to be outdone the shares were up a gigantic 60% in premarket trading Monday morning, as a massive short squeeze continues.

Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU) was downgraded at Goldman Sachs to Neutral from Buy, and the price target was dropped to $10.40. The posted consensus target is $11.62, and the stock closed Friday at $9.92, up over 3% on the day.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Atlantic Equities, which has set a $23 target for the oilfield services leader. The consensus target is $21.88. The last trade on Friday came in at $19.24.

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm pointed out that the maker of premier next-gen genomic sequencing technology lowered its guidance but the shares did make new highs. Shares last closed at $406.25 but have a consensus price target of $324.81.

Imax Corp. (NYSE: IMAX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, which did lift the price target to $17.90. The $18.76 consensus target is just above Friday’s closing print of $18.47.

Medifast Inc. (NYSE: MED) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, which also boosted the price target to $265. That compares with a lower $236 consensus target and Friday’s last trade of $220.87.

Magnite Inc. (NASDAQ: MGNI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Truist Securities, which also raised the price target to $37. That is well above the $24.71 consensus target. But the stock closed Friday at $40.08, up almost 11% after another brokerage firm doubled its price target.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, which hiked the price target to $33. The consensus target is $27.50. The shares were last seen on Friday at $28.33.

Regency Centers Corp. (NASDAQ: REG) was raised from Neutral to Buy with a $54 price objective at Compass Point. The consensus price objective is $50.33. The last trade on Friday was reported at $46.93. The shares were up over 2% in the premarket.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) was raised from Market Perform to Outperform with a $630 price target at BMO Capital Markets. The consensus target is up at $660.56. The shares closed Friday’s trading at $537.78 and were up almost 4% in premarket action.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was raised to Hold from Sell at Loop Capital, which has set a $225 price target. The consensus target is set much higher at $274.71. The last trade on Friday was posted at $225.77.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) was raised to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities. The firm also boosted the price target to $31. That consensus target is $26.37, and the last trade for Friday came in at $24.41.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) was resumed in coverage at Goldman Sachs with a $234 target price. The consensus target is much lower at $196.41. The stock closed at $204.66 on Friday.

Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH) was downgraded at JPMorgan from Neutral to Underweight with an $80 price target. The consensus target for the restaurant chain is in line at $80.92. The stock was last seen on Friday at $79.71. With trading so close to a 52-week high, this is likely a valuation call.

Wells Fargo Inc. (NYSE: WFC) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, which also lifted the price target on the money center bank to $40. The consensus target is posted at $37.25. Friday’s last trade came in at $31.90 a share.

Note that five stocks paid short sellers $1 billion or more last year, but two stocks crushed short sellers.

With energy coming back into favor, many Wall Street firms are positive on the sector for 2021. Four of the very best energy master limited partnerships are great total return ideas for investors now.

Early Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Adobe, Ford, Goldman Sachs, Intel, Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Seagate Technology, Snowflake, Targa Resources and Walt Disney. Analyst calls made later in the day featured Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Nio and more.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.