Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Adobe, HubSpot, NXP Semiconductors, Splunk, Textron, TJX, VMWare, Wingstop and More

Investing

Published: April 8, 2021 8:43 am

Last Updated: April 8, 2021 8:54 am

The futures were mixed on Thursday after investors were focused Wednesday on the release of the Federal Reserve minutes from the March meeting, in which officials expressed patience in keeping the easy monetary policy in place, believing that it will be “some time” until its economic and price-stability goals are met. Top strategists across Wall Street continue to point to the broad reopening of the economy, the tailwind from the stimulus package and those continued Federal Reserve pledges to keep interest rates contained as reasons for the continued moves higher in the equity markets. It should also be noted that money markets continue to see massive inflows, which is another big plus.

Some across Wall Street continue pointing to “bubble” metrics, like the massive “meme” retail stock and options trading by the WallStreetBets and Robinhood crowds, but some of 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 Thursday, April 8, 2021.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ; ADBE) was resumed in coverage at BofA Securities with a Buy rating and a $570 price target. The consensus target for the technology giant is $565.42, and the last trade for Wednesday came in at $493.41.

Alarm.com Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ALRM) was raised to Outperform from Inline with a $105 price target at Imperial Capital. The consensus target is $107.50, and the stock closed Wednesday at $85.73.

Ameresco Inc. (NYSE: AMRC) was started with a Buy rating and a $58 price target at Stifel. The consensus target is $68.50, and the stock ended Wednesday at $47.15, which was down over 5% for the day.

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE: BSIG) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, which raised the price target to $30. The consensus target is $22.83, and the stock closed Wednesday’s trading at $20.37.