The futures were trading higher on Thursday as investors cheered huge earnings blowouts from the banks and brokerage firms as first-quarter results kicked off with a bang. Both the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 printed intraday all-time record highs. In addition, once again the transports showed some life closing higher, and as we have noted, that is a very positive sign for the economy.

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.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday, April 15, 2021.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT): Atlantic Equities started the pharmaceutical giant with a Neutral rating and a $122 price target. The consensus target is higher at $135.67, and the shares closed Wednesday at $121.50.

Anheuser-Busch Inbev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD): Barclays raised the beer titan to Overweight from Equal Weight. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $37.93 to $72.41 and have a consensus price objective of $74.14. The final trade on Wednesday was reported at $65.16.

Armada Hoffler Properties Inc. (NYSE: AHH): D.A. Davidson raised its rating from Neutral to Buy with a $16 price target. The consensus target is $14.25, and shares closed on Wednesday at $12.95.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NYSE: BBBY): Telsey Advisory Group reiterated its rating on the retailer with Market Perform status and lowered the price target to $30 from $40. That compares with the $27.42 consensus and Wednesday’s close of $24.52, which was down over 12% after the company posted very disappointing earnings results.

BrightView Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BV): Baird downgraded the shares to Neutral from Outperform while raising the price target to $19 from $16. The consensus target is $17.43, and the stock closed Wednesday at $18.39 per share.

Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC): Scotiabank upgraded it to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform and raised the price target to $75 from $65. The consensus target is set right in line at $75.15, and the stock closed Wednesday at $64.90.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): BTIG Research started the crypto brokerage firm with a Buy rating and a massive $500 price target. Wednesday was the first trading day for the direct-listed stock, and there is no established consensus target. The stock closed Wednesday at $328.28, up 31% from the reference pricing of $250 a share.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD): Deutsche Bank started the cybersecurity leader with a Buy rating and a $265 price target. The lower consensus target is $254.32, and Wednesday’s close was at $208.20 a share.

DigitalOcean Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DOCN): Oppenheimer started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $55 price target. There is no consensus as the company had a recent initial public offering. The shares ended trading on Wednesday at $43.47.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM): This U.S. automaking giant was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm ponders whether GM’s tank has run out of gas. Shares last closed at $58.48 and have a consensus price target of $65.14.

Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY): Goldman Sachs raised the chocolate giant to Buy from Neutral and lifted the price target to $181 from $171. The consensus target is $163.53. Wednesday’s final print was posted at $158.19.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT): Atlantic Equities started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $153 price target. The posted consensus target is $133.36, and the shares closed Wednesday at $123.90.

Murphy Oil Corp. (NYSE: MUR): Scotiabank upgraded it to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform and increased the price target to $20 from $16. The consensus target is $19.41, and Wednesday’s close was at $17.35.
National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE: NNN): Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised the price target to $53 from $37. The consensus target is $46.00, and the shares closed Wednesday at $44.72.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD): Scotiabank downgraded the shares to Sector Perform from Sector Outperform and lowered the price target on the Permian Basin giant to $175 from $180. The consensus price target is up at $192.09. The stock closed on Wednesday at $153.10, which up over 5% on the day.

Rattler Midstream L.P. (NASDAQ: RTLR): Raymond James raised the rating from Market Perform to Outperform with a $13 price target. The consensus target is $11.75, and the stock ended trading on Wednesday at $10.91.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NASDAQ: TDOC): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $235 price target. That compares with a consensus target of $257.59 and Wednesday’s close of $188.11.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS): Barclays upgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight and increased the price target on the delivery service leader to $180 from $155. The consensus target is $176.33, and Wednesday’s final trade came in at $176.21 a share.

XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO): The Barclays upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight included a price target hike to $160 from $135. The consensus target is set at $140.24. The stock was last seen Wednesday at $134.37.

Semiconductor shortages are causing some severe problems across many industries. Given the increased demand, buying any of four Jefferies chip stock picks could be a great short-term and long-term strategy for aggressive growth investors.

Furthermore, note that Chinese automaker Geely has big plans to take on Tesla, Apple and more. And see whether shopping center mergers signal that now is a good time to buy shares.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Facebook, Harley-Davidson, JetBlue Airways, Lowe’s Companies, Occidental Petroleum, Overstock.com, Snap and Southwest Airlines. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Synchrony, Twitter, Yum! Brands and more.

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