The futures initially traded higher on Wednesday before pulling back. This after a session of major selling and then a massive reversal across Wall Street on Tuesday. With all the major indexes hit hard initially, including the Russell 2000, the market rallied big after dovish comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell indicated the central bank would stay on the same low interest rate course. Top analysts continue pointing to “bubble” metrics, like the massive retail stock and option trading, huge hedge fund leverage and IPOs that don’t make money as examples, and many are urging caution.

While fourth-quarter earnings results are almost complete, most across Wall Street still are not only examining the results but also looking to see what guidance for the balance of the first quarter and the rest of the year looks like. With stocks very overbought, major Wall Street firms are warning of an impending 5% to 10% correction, so it makes sense now 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 Wednesday, February 24, 2021.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) was raised from Market Perform to Outperform with a $31 price target at Cowen. The posted consensus target is $26.85. The last trade for Tuesday came in at $25.56 a share.

Ares Management Inc. (NYSE: ARES) was started at Credit Suisse with a Neutral rating and a $54 price target. The consensus target is$56.90. The stock closed Tuesday at $50.71.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of 38.31 to $83.79 and has an $85.95 consensus price target. The stock rose 3% on Tuesday to close at $83.38.

BigCommerce Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BIGC) was raised from Sector Weight to Overweight with a $75 price target at KeyBanc Capital Markets. That compares with the consensus target of $75.82 and Tuesday’s close of $63.33, which was down over 7%. The shares are rebounding in the premarket up almost 6%.

Braskem S.A. (NYSE: BAK) was raised at JPMorgan from Hold to Overweight with a $14 price target. The consensus target is also $14. The shares were last seen on Tuesday trading at $11.19.

Canopy Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: CGC) was downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies. Shares of the marijuana company have traded in a wide 52-week range of $9.00 to $56.50. No consensus target was available. The shares closed Tuesday at $35.31, down almost 5% on the day.

Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, which also lowered the price target on the shares to $46. The consensus target for the battery marker is $53.09. The final trade for Tuesday came in at $43.90.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) saw its price target raised to $61 from $46 at Pivotal Research Group. The consensus target for the shoe retailer is $52.89. The stock closed Tuesday at $52.93.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the chopper is going out of style and, unfortunately, leading its progenitor, Harley-Davidson, out with it. Shares last closed at $36.01 and have a consensus price target of $37.11.

Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE: IHG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $25.39 to $75.20 and have a $75 consensus price target. The stock closed on Tuesday at $74.05. Closing near a 52-week high makes this look like a valuation call.

LENSAR Inc. (NASDAQ: LNSR) was started with an Outperform rating and a $20 price target at SVB Leerink. No consensus target was available. The shares closed at $9.50, after jumping almost 19% on Tuesday.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) saw its target price raised to $16 from $14 at Telsey Advisory Group. The lower consensus target for the venerable retailer is $11.28. Tuesday’s close at $15.88 came after a gain of almost 4% for the day.

McAfee Corp. (NYSE: MCFE) was raised at Deutsche Bank from Hold to Buy with a $23.50 price objective. The consensus objective is $21.50. The closing price on Tuesday was $19.45.

Oak Street Health Inc. (NYSE: OSH) was started with a Buy rating and a $67 price target at Canaccord Genuity. The consensus target is $67.13, and Tuesday’s closing price was $57.17.
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) saw its target price raised to $95 from $81.50 at Pivotal Research Group. The analysts felt that the company’s recent first analyst day as a public company was a resounding success. The consensus price target for the social media company is down at $63.24. The stock closed Tuesday’s trading at $70.45, after rising more than 11% on the day.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) was downgraded at Wells Fargo from Overweight to Equal Weight with a $255 price target. The consensus target is $237.37, and the Tuesday close at $256.59 came after almost a 5% retreat for the day.

Trip.com Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: TCOM) was started with an Outperform rating and a $51 price target at Bernstein. The posted consensus target is $37.80. The last Tuesday trade was seen at $40.91, up almost 3% on the day.

Virtu Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: VIRT) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this is a highly esteemed high-frequency market maker, which handles roughly 25% of the swelling retail investing market’s volume. Shares most recently closed at $27.11 and have a consensus price target of $29.70.

W.R. Berkley Corp. (NYSE: WRB) was raised at UBS from Neutral to Buy with an $80 price target. That compares with a lower $68.11 consensus target and Tuesday’s $69.13 per share close.

Webster Financial Corp. (NYSE: WBS) was downgraded from Overweight to Neutral with a $54 price target at Piper Sandler. The consensus target is $55.45. The last trade Tuesday was reported at $55.20. This looks like a valuation call, as the stock is right at a 52-week high.

Goldman Sachs has raised its long-term oil price forecasts for 2021 and 2022. Three of its top energy stock picks are solid ways to play a continued upswing in oil and an improving 2021 economy, and they offer a degree of safety and income at reasonable entry points.

Tesla stock is tanking. Should investors be worried? And see what has analysts excited about Palo Alto Networks.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest buys Taiwan Semiconductor, Twitter and more, but what are the funds selling now?

Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advance Auto Parts, Dish Network, Intuit, Kroger, Palo Alto Networks, Qorvo, Starbucks and Texas Instruments. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Exxon, Kohl’s, MGM, Spotify and more.

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