The futures were mixed on Thursday after another day of momentum stock selling, and with the jobless claims coming in pretty much as advertised investors and traders are all looking for market direction. With the future of the stimulus bill now in the Senate, many feel that with some changes it will pass no later than next week. Top analysts on Wall Street continue pointing to “bubble” metrics, like the massive “meme” retail stock and option trading, huge hedge fund leverage and IPOs that don’t make money as examples, and many are urging continued near-term caution.

With fourth-quarter earnings results almost complete, most across Wall Street have not only been examining the final results but also looking to see what guidance for the balance of the first quarter and the rest of 2021 looks like. With stocks still near overbought conditions, and major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction (which already may have begun), 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, March 4, 2021.

Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this tech-focused firm posted back-to-back strong quarters to end 2020 on a high note and its outlook is impressive. Shares most recently closed at $527.43 and have a consensus price target of $610.00.

Atmos Energy Corp. (NYSE: ATO) was raised from Neutral to Buy with a $99 price target at Mizuho. The consensus target is slightly higher at $102.44. The stock was last seen Wednesday at $88.45.

Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ: BMBL) was started with a Positive rating and a $78 price target at Susquehanna. There is no consensus target as the stock had a recent red-hot initial public offering. The shares closed Wednesday at $62.01, down almost 9% for the day.

CBOE Global Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, which also raised the target price to $108. The posted consensus target is $100.87. Wednesday’s last trade came in at $96.02.

Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) was raised at Jefferies from Hold to Buy with a $325 price target. The consensus target is $255.56. The final trade for Wednesday hit the tape at $261.67.

Dycom Industries Inc. (NYSE: DY) was downgraded at Wells Fargo from Overweight to Equal Weight with an $88 price target. The consensus target is $91, and the last trade on Wednesday came in at $87.15, up nearly 13% for the day. With shares trading right at a 52-week high, this looks like a straight valuation call, after the company posted blowout numbers and announced a large share buyback.

Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE: IHG) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $25.39 to $75.20 and has a $75 consensus price target. It closed on Wednesday at $71.12 a share.

KemPharm Inc. (NASDAQ: KMPH) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at H.C. Wainwright, which lowered the price target to $12. The consensus target is much higher at $26. The stock closed Wednesday up a stunning 43% to $13.47, after the FDA approved the firm’s NDA for treatment of ADHD.

LiveRamp Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: RAMP) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets. The firm also lowered the price target to $65. The higher consensus target is $83.25, and Wednesday’s closing price was $59.12, which was down almost 9% on the day.

Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE: KRG) was raised from Sector Weight to Overweight with a $22 price target at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The consensus target is $18.61, and Wednesday’s close was at $19.46.

Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $12 price target at Siebert Williams Shank. The consensus target is just $10.56. The shares closed Wednesday at $11.63, after gaining almost 4% for the day.

Mesa Air Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MESA) was downgraded at Deutsche Bank from Buy to Hold with a $15 price target. The consensus target for the regional airline is $10.30, and the stock closed Wednesday at $15.30, up over 8% on the day.

Nielsen Holdings PLC (NYSE: NLSN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets, which raised the price target to $30. The consensus target is $23.62. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $24.10, down almost 3% on the day.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA) was raised from Hold to Buy with a $300 price objective at Canaccord Genuity. The consensus price target is $271.56. The stock closed on Wednesday at $241.22, down nearly 7% for the day.

Passage Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: PASG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which raised the price target to $30. That compares with a consensus target of $28.50 and Wednesday’s close at $19.96. The shares were responding well (up almost 5%) in premarket trading.

Planet Fitness Inc. (NASDAQ: PLNT) was downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform with an $85 price target at Cowen. The consensus target is $84.77, and the shares ended Wednesday at $85.99.
Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler. The firm also raised the price target on the chip giant to $160. The higher consensus target is $172.27, and Wednesday’s closing price was $131.66, after retreating nearly 4% on the day.

Realty Income Inc. (NYSE: O) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho, which lowered the price target to $62. The consensus target is up at $69.59. The stock closed on Wednesday at $60.78.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, which raised its price target on the red-hot cloud-based software company to $300. The consensus target is even higher at $309.61. The shares were last seen trading on Wednesday at $247.03, down almost 9% on the day.

Spirit Realty Capital Inc. (NYSE: SRC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho, though the firm raised the price target to $43. The consensus target is $43.85, and Wednesday’s closing price was $42.55 per share.

Stitch Fix Inc. (NASDAQ: SFIX) saw its target price raised at Telsey Advisory Group to $84 from $54. The firm maintained its Outperform rating on the shares. The consensus price target is $54.25, but the stock was last seen on Wednesday trading at $72.57, even after pulling back over 6% on the day.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the stock has fallen 15% in the past three months as Wall Street starts to price-in how difficult it will be to keep pace with the retailer’s stellar, coronavirus-driven growth. Shares last closed at $127.59 and have a consensus price target of $159.84.

BofA Securities feels four top medtech companies are all poised for potential positive news and developments in the near future. Their stocks could be good additions to growth portfolios looking to add positions in the sector.

Does Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) have 50% upside after earnings? Why did one analyst double its price target on Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS)?

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Adobe, Fastly, Fisker, Rocket Companies, Roku, Shopify and Target. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Microsoft, Oracle, Tesla and more.

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