The futures traded lower on Monday as investors await a tsunami of first-quarter earnings reports this week, which many on Wall Street are expecting to be extremely good. The earnings will start coming in on the heels of a Friday that saw both the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 close at all-time highs and the other major indexes posting strong gains as well.
Top strategists across Wall Street continue to point to the broad reopening of the economy, the tailwind from the stimulus package and the continued Federal Reserve pledges to keep interest rates contained as reasons for the continued moves higher in the equity markets. It also should be noted that money markets continue to see massive inflows, which is another big plus.
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, April 12, 2021.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY | ALLY Price Prediction): BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $64 price target. The consensus target for the bank is $53.09, and Friday’s last trade came in at $47.15.
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY): Zacks named it the Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that, coming off a great year, the future looks more difficult for this popular electronics retailer. Shares last closed at $122.48, but the consensus price target is $116.90.
Camping World Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CWH): Zacks named it as the Bull of the Day. The firm said that RVs have been a surprise hit during the pandemic and this industry leader is dominating sales, service and accessories. Shares most recently closed at $38.27 and have a consensus price target of $43.38.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG): Raymond James raised it to Outperform from Market Perform with a monster $1,800 price target. The consensus target is $1,655.53, and the stock closed Friday at $1,531.42.
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CMS Energy Corp. (NYE: CMS): Mizuho upgraded it to Buy from Neutral and raised the price target to $65. The consensus target is $65.08, and the shares closed Friday at $60.46.
Copa Holdings S.A. (NYSE: CPA): Goldman Sachs upgraded it to Buy from Neutral, and the price target is raised to $100. The lower $84.78 consensus target compares to Friday’s last trade of $80.74.
Evelo Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: EVLO): Jefferies upgraded it to Buy from Hold, and the analysts raise the price target to $18. The consensus target is higher at $20.20, and the last trade on Friday came in at $10.04.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): Jefferies upgraded it to Hold from Underperform and has a $55 price target for the integrated energy giant. The consensus target is up at $61.18, and Friday’s final trade was reported at $55.87.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME): Ascendiant Capital downgraded the stock from Hold to Sell with a $10 price target. The consensus target is up at $40.64, and the stock closed Friday at $158.36, which was down 7% for the day.
JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS): Roth Capital downgraded it from Buy to Neutral with a $38 price target. The consensus target is $49.59, and the final trade on Friday was reported at $38.65.
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Kilroy Realty Inc. (NYSE: KRC): Evercore ISI raised it from In Line to Outperform with a $76 price target. The posted consensus target is $70.79, and the stock closed at $66.78 on Friday.
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KNX): Susquehanna downgraded the trucking and shipping giant to Neutral from Positive and has a $53 price target. That is in line with the $52.94 consensus target. Friday’s last trade was at $50.08 a share.
Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH): BTIG Research raised it from Neutral to Buy with a $175 price target. The consensus target is $164.44. The final Friday trade was posted at $143.87.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY): Wolfe Research downgraded the energy leader from Peer Perform to Underperform with a $20 price target. The posted consensus target is $28.83, and the stock closed Friday at $24.59.
Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG): Morgan Stanley downgraded it from Overweight to Equal Weight with a $35 price target. The consensus price objective is up at $59.03. Friday’s last trade came in at $32.30.
Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM): The Evercore ISI downgrade to In Line from Outperform included lowering the price target on the chip leader to $150. The consensus target is $171.71, and Friday’s final trade was recorded at $140.57.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM): Atlantic Equities started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $130 price target. The consensus target is $134.46, and the last trade Friday was reported at $122.80
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Canaccord Genuity raised the electric vehicle leader to Buy from Hold, and the firm has a massive $1,071 price target. The consensus target is just $630.23. The final Friday trade hit the tape at $677.02.
U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB): BofA Securities not only upgraded the regional bank leader to Neutral from Underperform but also raised the price target to $62. The consensus target is $59.63. The stock closed at $57.29 on Friday.
Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK): KeyBanc Capital Markets raised it from Sector Weight to Overweight with a $124 price target. The consensus price objective is $91.94, and the shares were last seen on Friday trading at $89.45.
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Four top money center bank stocks look very attractive and make sense for growth stock investors looking for a dividend kicker to add the potential for solid 2021 total return. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs sees winners and losers in the U.S. steel industry.
Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included ADS, Ally Financial, Carnival, Charter Communications, General Dynamics, Honeywell, MDC and Philip Morris International. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Credit Suisse, Delta, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and more.
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