The futures were mixed on Tuesday morning, as investors get ready for the onslaught of first-quarter earnings, which will start in earnest tomorrow as the big money center banks start the large-cap reporting parade. The S&P 500 posted yet another intraday high, before closing lower Monday, as did all the major indexes.
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 Tuesday, April 13, 2021.
Ameren Corp. (NYSE: AEE | AEE Price Prediction): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and also raised the price target to $89 from $84. The consensus target price is $83.77, and the last Monday trade came in at $80.72.
Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND): Zacks named this the Bear of the Day stock, saying that it is a meatless miracle that shares have run far past the price at which this “trendy” stock should be trading. Shares last closed at $132.26, but the consensus price target is $128.80.
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG): Jefferies upgraded it to Buy from Hold and also raised the price target to $2800 from $2300. That compares with a consensus target of $2462.04 and Monday’s final print of $2409.05.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY): Truist Securities raised the stock to Buy from Hold. The pharmaceutical giant has traded in a 52-week range of $54.07 to $67.16 and has a consensus price target of $75.38. Monday’s final trade was reported at $62.69.
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Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE: NET): Mizuho started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $77 price objective. The consensus target is much higher at $101.17. The last trade to hit the tape on Monday was recorded at $69.73.
Commscope Holding Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: COMM): Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and raised the price target to $21 from $14. That consensus target is lower at $18.29, and the shares ended trading Monday at $17.29.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX): KeyBanc Capital Markets raised the delivery giant to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $350 price target. The consensus target is lower at $328.75, and the stock was last seen Monday at $290.79.
IDACorp Inc. (NYSE: IDA): BofA Securities downgraded it to Neutral from Buy but kept a $105 price target. The consensus target is posted at $102.75, and the shares ended trading Monday at $100.09.
iHeart Media Inc. (NASDAQ: IHRT): BofA Securities raised the stock to Buy from Underperform with a $26 price target. The consensus target for the broadcasting giant is lower at $18.33. The stock closed Monday at $17.48, down over 4% on the day.
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JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU): Susquehanna raised the stock to Positive from Neutral with a $26 price target. The consensus target is $20.07, and the shares ended trading on Monday at $20.50.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): Berenberg raised it to Buy from Hold and set a $40 price target. The consensus target is at $33.68, and the stock was last seen Monday at $31.77.
NorthWestern Corp. (NYSE: NWE): Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform but raised the price target to $66 from $60. The consensus target for the utility giant is $64.75, and the shares ended trading Monday at $67.60. Trading right at the 52-week high, this could be a valuation call.
Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Cowen raised the price target on the semiconductor leader to $675 from $665 after its analysts day discussed its expanding accelerated compute portfolio and business models to extract value in gaming, autos and data center. The analysts reiterated their Outperform rating. The consensus target is $644.34, and Monday’s last trade came in at $608.36, up almost 6% on the day.
PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP): Wolfe Research started the stock with a Peer Perform rating. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $126.53 to $148.77 and have a $152.04 consensus price target. The stock closed Monday at $143.02.
Spirit Airlines Inc. (NYSE: SAVE): Susquehanna raised the stock to Positive from Neutral with a $50 price target. The consensus target is $34.30, and the stock closed Monday at $36.01, down almost 4% on the day.
Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ): Needham raised the price target to $310 from $300, following several recent developments, such as the start of limited banking services. The consensus target is lower at $267.86, and the stock was last seen Monday at $265.20.
Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ: STMP): Zacks named this as the Bull of the Day. The firm said that packages have been flying in and out of doors like it was Christmas every day this past year, and Stamps.com had its best year in the history of the company. Shares most recently closed at $207.61 and have a consensus price target all the way up at $345.75.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN): Telsey Advisory Group raised the price target on the retail favorite to $45 from $40 but maintained an Outperform rating. The consensus target is $36.47, and the stock closed Monday at $38.15.
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SPCE): Wolfe Research started the stock with a Market Perform rating and a $27 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $38.33, and the last trade Monday came in at $26.77, down almost 9% on the day.
Zscaler Inc. (NYSE: ZS): Mizuho started the shares with a Buy rating and a $217 price target. That compares with the higher $238.61 consensus target and Monday’s 188.38 closing print.
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Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Best Buy, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Exxon Mobil, GameStop, Match, Plug Power, Qualcomm and Tesla. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on AstraZeneca, Bumble, McDonald’s, Microsoft and more.
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