DraftKings, H&R Block, Novartis and More Wednesday Afternoon Analyst Calls

With the trading day more than halfway over, the broad markets were pushing higher yet again. Today, the Dow Jones industrials average was the big winner, but the Nasdaq and S&P 500 each saw another strong trading session of gains.

24/7 Wall St. is looking at some big analyst calls that we have seen so far on Wednesday. We have included the most recent analyst call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts.

For those that might have missed it, 24/7 Wall St. had an earlier round of analyst calls on Wednesday that included Airbnb, Apple, Chevron, HPE and more.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD | ACAD Price Prediction) was downgraded by BofA Securities to Neutral from Buy. Shares traded near $28 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $23.35 to $58.72. The consensus price target is $46.71.

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Barnes & Noble Education Inc. (NYSE: BNED) was reiterated as Buy and its price target was raised to $9 from $5 at Needham. The stock was trading near $8 a share. The 52-week trading range is $1.11 to $8.27, and the consensus price target is $7.50.

Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE) was upgraded by Mizuho to Buy from Neutral and its price target jumped to $69 from $34. Shares were trading below $33. The stock has changed hands within a 52-week range of $24.24 to $72.51, and it has a consensus price target of $46.53.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) was reiterated with a Buy rating and its price target was raised to $75 from $69 at Benchmark. Shares traded near $68, in a 52-week range of $10.60 to $72.16. Analysts have a consensus price target of $71.33.

H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $24 from $21. The stock traded near $20 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $11.29 to $20.75. It has a consensus price target of $19.29.

Novartis A.G. (NYSE: NVS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus. The consensus price target is $16.83. Shares traded at around $84 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $69.18 to $98.52. The consensus analyst target is $104.67.

Pulmonx Corp. (NASDAQ: LUNG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral with a $72 price target at BofA Securities. The stock traded near $57 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $37.64 to $69.48. It has a consensus analyst target of $62.20.

Sundial Growers Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDL) was downgraded at BMO Capital Markets to Underperform from Market Perform. Cantor Fitzgerald also initiated the stock with a Neutral rating. The consensus price target is $0.36. Shares traded around $1 on Wednesday, in the 52-week range of $0.13 to $3.96.

Vermillion Energy Inc. (NYSE: VET) was upgraded to Buy at Canaccord Genuity. Early Wednesday, the stock traded near $8. The 52-week range is $1.50 to $8.10, and the consensus price target is $42.50.

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With a slew of catalysts on the horizon, some very positive tailwinds for demand and a push by the Biden administration to bring chip production back to the United States, six BofA Securities semiconductor stock picks all make sense for aggressive growth investors looking to add positions in the space.

Note that short sellers have been piling into Apple, Amazon and Facebook but shying away from Tesla.
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