The futures traded higher once again on Thursday as volatile trading on Wednesday saw big moves up and down, and once again all three of the major indexes and the Russell 2000 printed intraday all-time highs. The Dow Jones industrials closed at an all-time high. Investors are continuing to cheer the possibility of a big stimulus package becoming a reality and fourth-quarter earnings that have continued to come in very strong. Top analysts on Wall Street are still pointing to “bubble” metrics, like the massive retail stock and option trading, huge hedge fund leverage and IPOs that don’t make money, and many are urging caution.
[in-text-ad]
With the rush of fourth-quarter earnings reports slowing, most across Wall Street still are not only be examining the results but looking to see what guidance for the first quarter and the rest of 2021 looks like. With the markets pushing back to all-time highs, it makes sense for investors to start building some cash reserves while repositioning portfolios for the rest 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 Thursday, February 11, 2021.

Allstate Inc. (NYSE: ALL) was downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform with a $113 price target at Keefe Bruyette. The consensus target for the insurance giant is $125.14. The stock closed Wednesday at $105.60 a share.

Altimmune Inc. (NYSE: ALT) was started with a Buy rating and a $36 price target at Guggenheim. The consensus target is higher at $41.40. The stock closed on Wednesday at $21.07. The shares were up almost 5% in Thursday’s premarket action

AnaptysBio Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAB) was raised at JPMorgan from Underweight to Overweight with a $40 price target. The consensus target is $28, and Wednesday’s closing price was $29.70. The stock was up almost 5% in premarket trading.

Aon PLC (NYSE: AON) was raised from Neutral to Overweight with a $265 price target at Atlantic Equities. The consensus target is lower at $228.69. The last trade for Wednesday came in at $223.22, up over 7% on a solid earnings report.

AppHarvest Inc. (NASDAQ: APPH) was started with an Outperform rating and a $42 price objective at Cowen. The consensus target is $40. The stock closed Wednesday at $36, down almost 6% on the day, but shares rallied almost 5% in the premarket.

Avient Corp. (NASDAQ: AVNT) was raised to Buy from Hold at Stifel, which has a $54 price target. The consensus target is $50.64. The stock closed on Wednesday at $42.05.

Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was raised at BofA Securities from Hold to Buy with a $38 price target. The consensus target for the retailer is $28.96. The stock rose 7% on Wednesday to close at $29.02. Shares were up an additional 4% in the premarket. This is another of the heavily shorted stocks that the Reddit crowd has targeted.

Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $53.08 to $84.20 and has a consensus price target of $79.55. The shares were last seen on Wednesday trading at $79.00.

CRISPR Therapeutics A.G. (NASDAQ: CRSP) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that gene editors got a big boost recently from sickle cell potential and Cathie Wood’s thematic investing. Shares last closed at $160.20 and have a consensus price target of just $152.87.

Dine Brands Global Inc. (NYSE: DIN) was downgraded at Deutsche Bank from Buy to Hold with an $80 price objective. The consensus target is $83.22. The final trade for Wednesday came in at $78.02, after a 2% gain for the day.

Equitrans Midstream Corp. (NASDAQ: ETRN) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, which lowered the price target to $7. The consensus target is higher at $10.42, and the stock closed Wednesday at $7.39 a share.

Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC Securities. The luxury car leader has traded in a 52-week range of $127.73 to $233.66 and has a $248.46 consensus price target. The shares closed trading on Wednesday at $207.15.

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler, which lowered the price target to $24. The consensus target for the oil drilling company is $21.67. The last trade for Wednesday hit the tape at $28.20, up almost 9% after operating revenue topped Wall Street estimates.

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, which also raised the price target on the real estate leader to $125. The $99.88 consensus target also compares with Wednesday’s close at $106.22, which was up almost 4% on the day.

Spirit Airlines Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Vertical Research, which has a $34 price target. The consensus target is $26.43. The stock closed Wednesday at $32.68, up over 4% on the day. Shares were down almost 7% in the premarket after the deep discount carrier posted a fourth-quarter loss and missed revenue estimates.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) was raised from Sell to Neutral with a $55 price target at MoffettNathanson. The consensus target is $57.82. The shares closed way above both levels Wednesday at $67.77, after rising more than 13% in the wake of stellar results for the fourth quarter.

UDR Inc. (NYSE: UDR) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Piper Sandler, which raised the price target to $44. The consensus target is lower at $41, and the shares closed Wednesday at $41.73.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, which raised the price target to $28. The consensus target is $19.28. The last trade for Wednesday came in at $22.45, up over 8% for the day after a solid fourth-quarter report.

Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) was raised at Wells Fargo from Underweight to Equal Weight with a $25 price target. The consensus target is $24.28, and shares were last seen on Wednesday at $23.47.

Goldman Sachs has raised the price targets on stocks of some companies that delivered the goods in a big way during earnings season and still look to have some very solid upside potential. These four remain great ideas for aggressive growth investors.

Be sure to check out the world’s least admired companies and America’s biggest companies that did not exist a decade ago.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Akamai Technologies, Avaya, Canopy Growth, Corsair Gaming, Skyworks Solutions and Virgin Galactic. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Barrick, Lyft, Nordstrom, Twitter 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.