The futures were trading mixed on Monday, at the start of a new trading week after a wild quadruple witching Friday. That is, stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures all expired simultaneously and certainly stirred the volatility pot. The transports posted another strong day, and that usually bodes very well for the economy, especially with stimulus money pouring in and the country reopening.
Despite the strong gains, top strategists 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 the current volatility may be here for some time.
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.
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These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, March 22, 2021.
Acceleron Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: XLRN) was resumed in coverage at Goldman Sachs with a Neutral rating and a $132 price target. The consensus target is $149.62, and the stock closed trading on Friday at $138.01 a share.
Alcon Inc. (NYSE: ALC | ALC Price Prediction) was raised from Neutral to Buy with a $78 price target at BTIG Research. The consensus target is $76.18. The shares ended Friday trading at $68.15.
ASML Holdings N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $222.67 to $608.71 and have a consensus price target of $578.20. The stock closed Friday at $547.42.
B&G Foods Inc. (NYSE: BGS) was downgraded from Overweight to Neutral with a $31 price target at Piper Sandler. The consensus target is $27.90, and the stock closed on Friday at $33.06, after a gain of over 4% on the day. Trading it is at a 52-week high, this could be a valuation call.
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Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities, which raised the price target to $128. That compares with a $113.09 consensus target and Friday’s $107.34 close.
Copa Holdings S.A. (NYSE: CPA) was downgraded at JPMorgan from Neutral to Underweight with a $65 price target. The much higher consensus target is $85, which is also less than Friday’s close at $89.86.
Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was raised to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI. Shares of the discount retailing giant have traded in a 52-week range of $135.26 to $225.25 and have a consensus price target of $229.80. The last Friday trade hit the tape at $187.78 per share.
DuPont de Nemours Inc. (NYSE: DD) was started at Barclays with an Equal Weight rating and an $84 price target. The consensus target for the specialty chemical leader is $84.21. The closing price on Friday was $77.10 a share.
Dynatrace Inc. (NYSE: DT) was started at Goldman Sachs with a Buy rating and a $65 price objective. That compares with the $59.51 consensus target and Friday’s $50.90 close.
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Floor & Decor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: FND) was raised to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $26.08 to $108.54 and have a consensus pierce objective of $110.50. Friday’s final trade came in at $97.61, up over 4%.
Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that miners continue to underperform the barbarous relic over the long term and investors should know why. Shares last closed at $10.04 and have a consensus price target of $12.72.
Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) was raised at JPMorgan from Neutral to Overweight with a $275 price target. The consensus target is just $239.06. The last Friday trade was recorded at $224.16. The shares were up over 16% in premarket trading after Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to buy the company for $275 per share, representing a 23% premium to Friday’s closing price.
NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) was raised from Neutral to Buy with a $27 price target at UBS. The consensus target is $25.55. The stock ended last week at $23.69.
ONE Gas Inc. (NYSE: OGS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, though the firm raised the price target to $80. The consensus price target is $76.88, and Friday’s close was at $74.74.
Oxford Industries Inc. (NYSE: OXM) saw its price target raised to $88 from $65 at Telsey Advisory, which has a Market Perform rating on the shares. The consensus price target is $74.80, and Friday’s final trade was posted at $88.18.
Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities, which lowered the price target to $78. The consensus target is a much higher $90.90, and the shares closed Friday at $73.01, after over a 5% rise on the day.
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities, which lowered the price target on the social media giant to $67. The consensus target is $75.76, and Friday’s closing price was $58.36 a share.
Sunrun Inc. (NYSE: RUN) was started with a Positive rating and a $76 price target at Susquehanna. The consensus target is up at $81.65. Friday’s final trade came in at $55.58, which was up almost 8% for the day. The shares added an additional 5% in Monday’s premarket trading.
Vera Bradley Inc. (NYSE: VRA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen, which has a $12 price target. The consensus target is $13.25, and the stock ended the trading session Friday at $11.41.
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZI) was started with a Buy rating and a $65 price target at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target is $64.73, and Friday’s last trade was posted at $48.84, up almost 4% on the day. Shares added 3.3% in premarket action.
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Five sizzling Jefferies stock picks have plenty of upside, trade well below 52-week highs and make sense for investors looking to add small- and mid-cap exposure to long-term growth portfolios. Some may even get a seasonal boost.
Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Beyond Meat, Blackstone, Crown Castle, Enphase Energy, Ford, Hartford Financial Services, Keurig Dr Pepper, Kimberly-Clark and Mosaic. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Dollar General, Progressive, Starbucks, Molson Coors and more.
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