The futures were mixed on Friday following a late afternoon sell-off Thursday that some feel was triggered by President Biden’s proposal for raising capital gains taxes to as high as 43.4% on the wealthy. All the major indexes ended in the red, down almost 1% across the board. The transport index also closed down after posting an intraday all-time high earlier in the day.

The Federal Reserve pledges to keep interest rates contained could be among the 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 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 Friday, April 23, 2021.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI): Jefferies started coverage with a Buy rating and a $120 price target. The consensus target is $113.20, and the stock closed Thursday at $93.70.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE): Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $650 price target. The consensus target for the tech giant is much lower at $565.63. The final trade for Thursday was recorded at $507.29.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL): Raymond James raised the carrier to Market Perform from Underperform. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $8.25 to $26.09 and has a consensus price objective of $17.75. The last trade on Thursday was at $20.07 a share.

Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE: ANET): KeyBank Capital Markets started the stock with an Overweight rating and a $365 price target. That compares with the $343.42 consensus target and Thursday’s $312.83 close.

Bank of Princeton (NASDAQ: BPRN): Piper Sandler raised its Neutral rating to Overweight and also lifted the price target to $31. The consensus target is also $31.00, and the stock closed Thursday at $26.21.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA): Jefferies upgraded the video game giant to Buy from Hold and also raised the price target to $165. The lower consensus target is $158.70, and Thursday’s closing print was $141.26 a share.

EnLink Midstream LLC (NYSE: ENLC): The UBS upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a price target hike to $6. The consensus target is just $4.33, and the shares closed Thursday at $4.32.

GCM Grosvenor Inc. (NASDAQ: GCMG): JPMorgan double-upgraded the stock to Overweight from Underweight and raised the price target to $15. The consensus target is $13.00, and the final Thursday trade was reported at $12.12.

Greenlane Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: GNLN): Zacks named this the Bear of the Day stock. The firm points out that cannabis may be a growth industry, but smoking and vaping is not. Shares last closed at $4.55 and have a consensus price target of $7.25.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG): Morgan Stanly downgraded shares of the iconic motorcycle company to Underweight from Equal Weight. Yet, the firm raised the price target to $38, though that is still much lower than the $46.40 consensus estimate. Thursday’s closing share price was $48.07. Shares were down almost 3% in Friday’s premarket.

HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS): Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a massive $650 price target. The consensus target is $567.73, and the stock rose almost 6% on Thursday to close at $534.15.

Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR): This was selected as Bull of the Day at Zacks. The analyst said that the Robinhood IPO is eagerly anticipated, but this online broker probably has the better business. Shares last closed at $70.89 and have a consensus price target of $87.14.

Kraft Heinz Co. (NYSE: KHC): Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight and has a $41 price target. The consensus target for the food and condiment giant is $39.01, and the final Thursday trade was reported at $49.97.

Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO): Wolfe Research upgraded the energy leader to Outperform from Peer Perform and has a $15 price target. The consensus target is $12.88. The stock was last seen on Thursday at $10.33.
MediaAlpha Inc. (NYSE: MAX): JPMorgan raised its Neutral rating to Overweight and has a $50 price target. The consensus target is up at $60, but Thursday’s last trade was at $34.50 a share.

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE: OVV): Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to Outperform from Peer Perform and has a $30 price target. The consensus target is $27.98, and the stock closed Thursday at $21.96.

Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded it from Sector Weight to Overweight with a $185 price target. The lower consensus target is $160.50, and Thursday’s close was at $144.65 per share.

Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX): Along with its upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight, Morgan Stanley raised the price target to $56. The consensus target is $46.64. The shares closed Thursday at $44.51 but were up almost 10% in the premarket after first-quarter earnings and revenues beat Wall Street estimates.

Skillz Inc. (NASDAQ: SKLZ): Jefferies started coverage with a Hold rating and a $17 price target. The consensus target is a much higher $28.71, and the stock was last seen on Thursday at $16.57. The shares traded almost 8% higher in premarket action.

Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG): Jefferies initiated it with a Hold rating and a $39 price target. The consensus target is $40.07. Thursday’s last trade was posted at $37.37 a share.

Digital ad growth for the first quarter was very solid, and the big winners were the large-cap internet leaders that dominate the space. Three top stocks are excellent holdings for long-term aggressive growth investors looking for exposure but who want to stay with tried-and-true leaders.

In addition, see why Goldman Sachs is slashing price targets on electric vehicle makers, and check out the shakeup at an ARK Invest exchange-traded fund.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AutoNation, Coinbase, Energy Transfer, First Solar, Ford, Okta, Pioneer Natural Resources and Planet Fitness. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Alphabet, Baker Hughes, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Electronic Arts and more.

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