The futures were lower on Wednesday as investors digested yet another all-time high from the S&P 500 that was printed intraday before all the indexes flipped red in the final hour of trading and all ended lower. Top strategists across Wall Street continue to point to the broad reopening of the economy, the tailwind from the stimulus package and continued Federal Reserve pledges to keep interest rates contained as reasons for the continued moves higher in the equity markets. Note that money markets continue to see massive inflows, which is another big plus.

While top strategists on Wall Street continue pointing to “bubble” metrics, like the massive “meme” retail stock and options trading by the WallStreetBets and Robinhood crowds, some say that volume is starting to wane. Most investors now will be turning their attention to first-quarter earnings results, which start in earnest next week.

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 Wednesday, April 7, 2021.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) was resumed in coverage at RBC Capital Markets with a $135 price target. The consensus target for the pharmaceutical giant is lower at $122.17, and the stock closed trading on Tuesday at $105.38.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA) was named the Zacks Bull of the Day stock. The firm said that this stock is set up to stampede out of the gates as earnings season kicks off. Shares last closed at $31.31, but the consensus price target is just $28.73.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) saw its target price raised to $160 from $145 at Wells Fargo. The analysts at Cowen also raised their price target to $160. The consensus target for the semiconductor capital equipment leader is $144.35, and the stock closed most recently at $139.54.

Anheuser Busch Inbev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD) was named the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm suggested sticking with the beer because the stock could lead to severe hangovers. Shares last closed at $63.90 and have a consensus price target of $74.14.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: BFAM) was downgraded at Morgan Stanley from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $150 price target. That compares with a consensus price objective of $174.25 and Tuesday’s close at $178.29.

CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird, which has a $170 price target for the cybersecurity leader. That consensus target is up at $184.47, and the shares closed at $135.56 on Tuesday.

Fox Corp. (NASDAQ: FOXA) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Wells Fargo, which lifted the price target on the broadcasting giant to $41 from $27. The consensus target is $36.41m and Tuesday’s last trade came in at $37.05.

HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS) was resumed in coverage with a Buy rating and a $550 price target at Stifel. The lower consensus target is $490.52. Tuesday’s last trade of $490.52 was up close to 4% for the day.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $8.80 to $64.12 and has a consensus price target of $66.38. The shares closed at $62.04.

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) was raised at Morgan Stanley from Equal Weight to Overweight with a $61 price target. The consensus target is $49.89, and Tuesday’s final print was at $44.74.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) was resumed in coverage with a Sector Perform rating and $79 price target at RBC Capital Markets. The consensus target is much higher at $96.10, and the giant drug manufacturer closed trading Tuesday at $75.79 a share.

Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) was downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe Research, which kept a $94 price target on the shares. The consensus target is $96.93, and the stock closed Tuesday at $95.42, down almost 5% on the day despite beating earnings and revenue estimates.

SAGE Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SAGE) was started with an Overweight rating and a $100 price target at Piper Sandler. That compares with a slightly higher consensus target of $102.21 and Tuesday’s last trade at $79.29.

Saia Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens, which raised the price target on the trucking giant to $295 from $230. The much lower consensus target is $209.55. The Tuesday close at $228.67 a share was down almost 5% for the day.
SMART Global Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SGH) saw its target price raised to $65 from $56 at Needham. The consensus target is $55.20, and Tuesday’s final trade came in at $48.71. Shares were up almost 3% in the premarket.

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) was started with an Outperform rating and an $81 price target at RBC Capital Markets. The consensus target for the solar company is in line at $81.17, and the final trade for Tuesday was reported at $56.22.

Vertex Inc. (NASDAQ: VERX) was downgraded at Morgan Stanley from Equal Weight to Underweight with an $18 price target. The consensus price objective is $29.38m and the last trade to hit the tape on Tuesday came in at $22.66. The shares were down almost 3% in premarket trading.

ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) was raised to Outperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe Research. The shares have traded in a wide 52-week range of $14.39 to $101.97 and were crushed recently when millions were sold as a part of a massive hedge fund meltdown. The consensus price target for the broadcasting and programming company is $57.48. The stock closed Tuesday at $44.35, which was up almost 4% for the day.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) was started at Goldman Sachs with a Buy rating and a $145 price target. The consensus target for the garbage disposal giant is $131.36, and the stock was last seen trading at $131.60 on Tuesday.

Zendesk Inc. (NYSE: ZEN) was resumed in coverage with a Buy rating and a $180 price target at Stifel. The consensus target is $179.11, and shares last closed at $139.33 apiece.

Two very timely additions to the BofA Securities Growth 10 portfolio and three other stocks that offer some outstanding earnings growth potential could be outstanding additions to the portfolios of growth investors.

See which analyst is bearish on Apple despite its services growth and why another top analyst expects airline stocks to continue to soar.

Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Airbnb, Chevron, Coupang, Freeport-McMoRan, Peloton Interactive, Snap, Wynn Resorts and Zillow. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on American Airlines, Amazon.com, Bumble, McDonald’s, Starbucks and more.

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