Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AutoZone, Best Buy, Bloomin' Brands, EOG Resources, Lemonade, Pure Storage, QuantumScape, Stitch Fix, Twilio and More

Investing

Published: March 9, 2021 8:59 am

Last Updated: May 13, 2021 12:27 pm

The futures traded higher on Tuesday after another manic Monday that saw a big move higher in the Dow Jones industrials, while the S&P 500 traded lower and the Nasdaq was pummeled, closing in correction territory, down over 11% from the February 16 all-time high. With the U.S. Senate approving an amended $1.9 trillion stimulus package over the weekend, it moves back to the House for a final vote this 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, so last week’s volatility may stick around.

With fourth-quarter earnings reporting all but complete, most across Wall Street have not only been examining the results but also looking to see what guidance for the balance of the first quarter and the rest of 2021 looks like. With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction, 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 Tuesday, March 9, 2021.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James, which lowered the price target to $35. Stifel also downgraded the stock, to Hold from Buy, and lowered the price target to $27. The consensus target is a much higher $62.65. The stock closed Monday at $45.78, down almost 7% on the day, and shares were plunging in the premarket, down almost 45% after the FDA notified the company there were problems with its application for a psychosis drug.

Antero Resources Corp. (NYSE: AR) was raised at Wells Fargo from Underweight to Equal Weight with a $12 target price. The consensus target for the energy company is $10.11. The last trade for Monday came in at $9.72.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) was started at Citigroup with a Buy rating and a $1424 price target. The consensus target for the auto parts giant is $1406.44. Monday’s closing share price was $1241.11.