The futures were mixed on Friday, as we finish a wild trading week that was punctuated by the passing of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, which the president signed Thursday afternoon. Some expect the stimulus checks to start going out as early as this weekend. Both the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 closed at all-time highs. The Nasdaq had a strong day as well, closing up over 2% with heavy volume across the board.

Despite the big follow through rally on Thursday, 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.

Wall Street analysts have been examining earnings results and 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 across the board, it makes sense for investors to continue building some cash reserves into the market strength, while repositioning portfolios for the start of the second quarter and 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 Friday, March 12, 2021.

AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE: AER) saw its target price raised to $75 from $54 at Cowen. That compares with the lower $66.43 consensus price objective and Thursday’s close at $57.82, which was up over 8% for the day.

Antero Midstream Corp. (NYSE: AR) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, with a $7.50 price target. The consensus target is $7.94, and the shares were last seen on Thursday at $9.44.

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) was raised from Neutral to Buy at Goldman Sachs. The brokerage firm has traded in a 52-week range of $3.41 to $9.86 and has a consensus price objective of $11.19. Thursday’s closing price was reported at $9.69.

Boise Cascade Co. (NYSE: BCC) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA Securities, which also lowered the price target to $54. The consensus target is $55. The last trade for Thursday came in at $61.93, up 3% on the day. With shares trading right at the 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) saw its price target raised to $185 from $165 at Telsey Advisory, which reiterated its Outperform rating. The consensus target for the retail and dining giant is $159.86. Thursday’s last trade came in at $168.71.

CyrusOne Inc. (NASDAQ: CONE) was resumed in coverage with an Inline rating and a $70 price target at Evercore ISI. The consensus for the datacenter company is much higher at $82. Thursday’s closing print was posted at $66.29

Denny’s Corp. (NASDAQ: DENN) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens, which raised the price target on the ubiquitous restaurant chain to $24 from $19. The consensus target is $17.78. The stock was last seen on Thursday at $18.50.

Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) was started with an Inline rating and a $145 target at Evercore ISI. The consensus target is higher at $162.91. The closing price on Thursday was $134.85 a share.

DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) was raised from Inline to Outperform with a $285 price target at Evercore ISI. The consensus price objective for the company is set at $278.41 and Thursday’s final trade came in at $225.22 up almost 6%.

FinVolution Group (NYSE: FINV) was raised at Citigroup from Neutral to Buy with a $7 price target. The posted consensus target is just $4.12, and the stock closed Thursday at $9.77, up 93% after posting strong earnings. The shares retreated 13% in Friday’s premarket.

Franco-Nevada Corp. (NYSE: FNV) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays, which raised the price target to $104 from $102. The consensus target for the gold royalty company is much lower at $81.27. The last trade for Thursday hit the tape at $118.69, up 5% on the day.

Horizon Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ: HZNP) was started with an Outperform rating and a $107 price target at Wolfe Research. The consensus target is $113. The stock was last seen Thursday at $90.39.

Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE: IHG) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm suggests that the travel recovery already may be priced into the hotel stocks. Shares last closed at $72.18 and have a consensus price target of $75.00.
Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) was downgraded from Outperform to Sector Perform with a $93 price target at RBC Capital Markets. The consensus target for the homebuilder is $95.47. Shares closed on Thursday at $90.99 apiece.

Luminar Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: LAZR) was raised from Market Perform to Outperform with a $38 price target at Northland Capital. The consensus target is $36.60. The stock closed Thursday at $26.29, after a one-day gain of over 5%.

MacroGenics Inc. (NASDAQ: MGNX) was upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at Barclays, which raised the price target to $40. That compares with the lower $31.10 consensus target and Thursday’s final print of $28.32.

Magellan Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: MMP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, which lowered the price target to $42. The consensus target is up at $48.86m and the stock was last seen at $45.10 on Thursday.

Mastercraft Boat Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MCFT) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this powerboat maker is expected to see double-digit sales growth as the economy reopens. Shares most recently closed at $30.87 and have a consensus price target of $33.25.

MDC Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MDC) was downgraded at BofA Securities from Neutral to Underperform with a $63 price target. The consensus target is $63.90. The shares closed Thursday at $60.00.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) was downgraded from Outperform to Neutral with a $137 price target at Baird. The slightly higher consensus target of $139.67 compares with Thursday’s close of $121.86 a share.

Five very new companies will be added to the Russell 2000 index on March 19, which very well could push the stock prices higher, making them very interesting ideas for aggressive growth investors.

One top analyst anticipates that Costco stock will take another run at all-time highs, and see what growth investor Louis Navellier fears will weigh on U.S. dollar.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included ADT, Chevron, Camping World, Costco, D.R. Horton, General Electric, Nio and Occidental Petroleum. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Keurig Dr Pepper, Oracle, Tesla and more.

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